Maracas for Carnival

The beach is an important one for this country’s tourism sector.

However it attracts not only foreign tourists but also locals.

A large number of people annually opt out of the city-based Carnival activities in favour of the cool and tranquil seaside.

Maracas is one of the major destinations during the festivities.

But it is not only Maracas Beach that draws crowds. All beaches along our coasts do so. Perhaps then as the State completes its upgrade of Maracas it can cast an eye on all of the other facilities that are in need of service.

We welcome the decision to make the Maracas facilities accessible for Carnival but emphasise that the ministry must also pay close attention to the need for maintenance of the facility as well as others across the country.

Unfortunately, the State has a penchant of building flashy beach facilities and then allowing said facilities to fall into disrepair.

Perhaps the time has come for a standardisation of standards across all beaches and the establishment of a specific agency to enforce these standards, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism.

When, five months down the line, Maracas Beach is fully reopened, there must be some sort of commitment to continuous maintenance, both inside the facilities and outside in terms of the general environment.

The importance of these matters cannot be underemphasised.

Beaches are recreation spots, yes, but they are also important generators of income for a wide range of people.

They provide commerce for vendors and also drive traffic to parts of the country that rely on income streams from tourism.

Small hotels and guest houses need the overall beach infrastructure to be adequate to help draw visitors.

Care must be taken to make sure garbage collection at Maracas is regular and that dumping is not allowed to tarnish the scenery there and at adjoining bays such as Las Cuevas, Tyrico Bay and environs.

An audit of the state of beach facilities all over the country would be useful, especially as the weeks following Carnival are the busiest beach months. Easter time is peak season in this regard.

Meanwhile, we take this opportunity to remind all seagoers of the need for safety and vigilance when it comes to their sea frolics. All have a responsibility to pay attention to any advisories put out by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management on any bad weather conditions that might affect safety along the coast. Also, all must heed the warnings of lifeguards and must exercise responsibility. This means adults carefully supervising children and also desisting from imbibing alcohol if planning to swim. Finally, all beachgoers must be considerate of the environment and their fellow bathers.

It is hoped that Maracas will be adequately manned by lifeguards, such as those along the Mayaro coast and at Toco.

There must not be a repeat of the fraught industrial relations situation which resulted from lifeguards not being paid their salaries on time.

And it’s not just a matter of pay, the amenities in place for the lifeguards must also be fit for the purpose.

All of these auxiliary things must be addressed to compliment the good news of the opening of the beach. If they are not, the beaches will open and then will quickly be worn out by the elements. They will become dumps and then it will be, yet again, somebody else’s headache to address.