Tsunami Wrecks Islands, Then Lower Class Tourists Do The Same

Today’s WSJ has a story datelined Fort Blair, Andaman and Nicobar islands. These islands rang a bell because after the Asian tsunami of 2004, we had to go in and make a lot of changes to the feature story we had up about this destination on GoNOMAD. They were wrecked, but have come back to again become tourist outposts.

Part of what brought tourists back was the Indian goverment, that began sending civil service workers there for free vacations, called LTC, or ‘leave travel concessions.’ These LTCs, that Indians could arrange through travel agents without paying anything personally, brought about 180,000 public sector employees and their families to the islands, and has resulted in a somewhat mixed blessing.

You see, Andaman and Nicobar were once known as escapes for the rich, and for eco-tourists. Mohamed Jadwet, the president of the local chamber of commerce admits he pushed for the government help. But he didn’t bank on having the place overrun with lower class civil servants who leave trash on the beach and devour so much food at the all-you-can-eat buffet. “One day a guest ate almost seven pounds of butter chicken, and he was asking for more.”

Another complaint are betel nuts, with the telltale stains from spitters that spatter the walls of inns. There are other stories involving plebes who don’t know how to use a flush toilet, and thus yanked it off the wall, then removed the lid to sit on it.

It was not always this way, as these islands used to be a place where the average eco-tourist spent $100 per day. Now, the average Indian visitor spends just $7.50. In January, protest letters to the Indian government resulted in a ban on more private free tickets to the islands, and as a result LTC trips have fallen by about 75%.

Now the only problem is that all of the hotels who downsized for the masses have to upgrade again for the ‘good quality tourists.’