ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: CARIBBEAN TOURISM IN THE 19S0s AND 1960s As with most other destinations, Caribbean tourism really had its genesis with the birth of jet aircraft. Thus the first generation of hotels was built during the politically sensitive movement towards independence in much of the British Commonwealth Caribbean. It could hardly have been a more difficult time for the development of the tourist industry. As most of the entrepreneurs at this time came from outside the region, there was the perception that the tourism they were encouraging was a form of commercial neo-colonialism. This situation was further aggravated by the polemic issue of ethnicity, as the vast majority of tourists were, and still are, white and relatively affluent, whereas the host population was predominantly black and relatively impoverished.
