The government of Barbados has initiated special monetary incentives to encourage visitors to their island. Seems like a good move considering the current economic and geopolitical climate. Contrast this with Dive Festival Sponsors requiring $250 per person for attendees who do not stay at a host resort for access to activities. A Nikonos Shootout it is not.

I think you are not comparing apples with apples. The fees have nothing to do with our government but are related to the sponsors, Rodales's, CORAL, etc. One of the underlying issues is that they do not want lots of people since it is supposed to embody an eco tourism philosophy. That said, I do agree with Al and at times there is some short sightedness. The %$250 does sound excessive, but there is a lot that you do get for your money..parties, seminars, etc. Take a look at the web site for paticulars.

Actually, CORAL is no longer a direct sponsor either. Dive Festival is run by Rodale's Scuba Diving, three tour operators, three Bonaire properties, and operationally assisted by the Tourism Corporation Bonaire.

I agree that $250 is a bit much (it was half that in years past, I think?), but I suspect the magnitude of that fee is to encourage participants to stay at sponsoring resorts.

Mind you - purely my uninformed opinion above (as I'm sure to get hate mail for even suggesting there's a commercial bias involve ;-) ).

Jake

PS Al - comparing Barbados and Bonaire is a bit unfair. Barbados has a huge tourism budget and infrastructure. I think they see 20-30 times as many tourists on their island compared to Bonaire, plus they have a huge population base and industry (lots of relocated high tech off shore, among other things) to support such promotions. Bonaire has 11 or 12 thousand residents, no real industry, and a government which has basically no money, due in part to a central government on another island (Curacao) which also has no money.

Barbados, like the Caymans and Bermuda, has indeed set itself up to be an off-shore finance center. Due to treaties with the US, a shell game via Bermuda and Barbados results in US corporations being able to pay exceedingly low taxes. Since it's a treaty matter, the IRS will find it hard to fix.

It is unfortunate that Bonaire finds itself in this position. It appears the Antillean government as a whole lacked the forethought to develop any sources of sustainable income.

Curacao does have a high-tech business of sorts... it's one of the centers for off-shore internet gambling. Perhaps the Curacao government needs to find a way to extract some (more) tax revenue from that business? Internet links to Curacao are pretty good, though, as a result of that business.

Until such time as Bonaire liberates itself from control from Curacao, it's unlikely any significan business development will be possible. Tourism is the only business which could really be grown in the short term, and travel arrangements are the big detractor there.

Jake,
Not my intention to be unfair to Bonaire; anything but. When a Dive Festival incorporates "Bonaire" in its name, my perception is that the island itself is looking to attract visitors (not just a few eco-tourists, but any and all that are dive oriented). Nikonos Shootouts were a prime example of come one, come all, with a broad spectrum of activities, wide participation, and industry celebrities, all at a nominal cost. They spoiled me. It's probably just my frustration showing thru here. I'd really like to participate but the discouraging (and outrageous) price of entry is achieving its intended purpose .

Understood Al. And I agree with much of what you say. I found that the Nikonos Shoot-Outs brought me to places I might not have otherwise gone to with as little convincing. Bonaire being one of those places.

Anyhow, since the Dive Festival's major sponsor is Rodale's, are you feeling brave enough to post a comment/query on the Scuba Diving discussion board? ;-) (I'd love to hear the "official" response as to why the fee is $250 this year...)

Jake

Jake,
Not familiar with Scuba Diving discussion board. How might I access? And please give me a hint as to why I might have to be brave to do it. Is this a place where angels fear to tread? Thanks.

Jake,
Here's text of reply I received when asking what dive expenses were not covered by the $250. Please note that the Festival organizers graciously allow all dive participants to participate in a clean-up dive and provide assurance that there should be sufficient opportunity for every diver to get in one more Festival dive.
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The registration fee includes what is mentioned below, entrance to all scheduled daytime (i.e. photo workshops) and evening activities (eg presentations, Taste of Bonaire festival) as outlined in the Tentative Schedule on the Dive Festival website. There is the one dive/snorkel that you can sign up with with a local naturalist or festival presenter as well as the clean-up dive taking place on Weds.
morning that are included in the registration fee. There are no other dives included with the registration fee.

Any other diving should be part of the hotel package you would purchase from the place you are staying. The clean-up dive is open to every DF participant and the other dive that you sign up for prior to the festival on the website is on a first, come first serve basis - for each dive there are 6 spots open. There should be enough of these
dives offered for each person to have a space on one of them. But again this is only open to DF participants.
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ALL the above for just $250. Such a deal

Hey, one of those dives with local naturalists could be with me (I've been doing them during Dive Festival for some years now, although that price, and CORAL's diminished participation this year is making me reconsider that - I've shot off a note to the organizers to find out what the scoop is).

If you're around on the second Saturday of any month you can do a clean-up dive for free with me too :-)

The clean-up dive during Dive Festival has traditionally been done with Dee Scarr - and she is a treat, though.

I just looked up prices for previous years:

1999 Dive Festival - $175 for non-sponsoring resort participants, or $50 add-on for those at the resorts. (Source Bonaire E-News, which I used to publish)

2000 Dive Festival - $125 (as a Donation to CORAL Reef Alliance) (Bonaire Reporter Archives)

2001 - $75 ($95 if after March) (CORAL Web Site)

2002 - $100 (Web site, Reporter)

2003 - $250

Jake

Just as a follow-up, I just removed myself from the naturalist list for dives at the upcoming Dive Festival in June. But I will be at the Taste of Bonaire event, which is open to the public, to sample all the wares offered by local restaurants :-)

Al - thanks for bringing this all to my attention.

Jake

Very good to hear that Taste Of Bonaire is open to public. Festival info leads one to believe, incorrectly I submit, that Taste of Bonaire is for Festival goers only. Verrrrry interesting. Thanks for follow-up info. . Hope to meet you at you at TOB.

The reason Taste of Bonaire is a big success is that it's open to the public - locals and tourists alike participate as samplers of cuisine (if it was only Dive Festival participants, the restaurants doing the cooking would be mightily unhappy with the results, me thinks).

Jake