A hot topic for live debate

Dear Sir, I SEE that my published letter on Sunday drew forth two replies, the first from a Ms Ledwidge, which reflected a fairly balanced view on the concern for the Island and the need for tourism, which no-one (least of all myself) would dispute. The second was from Mr. Green, which I am afraid showed that he either fails to get the point (or does not want to!) The issue is that this “all-inclusive” tourism is not doing the island any good, nor the people living here, due to the “baggage” that comes with that form of tourism. I FEEL that these exchanges of correspondence via the worthy Bulletin have reached a point of being repetitious, and parties should just agree to differ. I would, however, point out to Mr. Green that when he quotes an increase of British visitors, he should take into account the decline in recent years of German tourists, and to a lesser degree, French, Italian, etc. If we are to be grateful that hiterto freer spending tourists from other parts of Europe are being replaced by “all-inclusive” Brits, I personally am not one to agree with that view. Maybe the Bulletin would like to consider a similar forum on this issue, as they organised some years past, when “integration” was the hot topic of the moment, and I, with others, debated the two sides to that issue, which I believe was enjoyed by the audience, which in turn participated. As I recall, there were two persons on each side of the argument, with the meeting excellently chaired by a neutral Ray Fleming. If this is arranged, I would be most pleased to explain to Mr. Green what I (and many others) feel this island needs, and its future direction. Over to your Mr. Editor!. P.S. To state my case clearly, although I am opposed to all-inclusive tourism, I believe that package holidays are for the good of the Island.