The other day I heard someone say that the tourist business hasn’t changed in twenty years. I’m not sure what that meant, but I could give an educated guess: people come to their second homes and come to spend weekends or their vacations because of the beaches. Over the past twenty years, that hasn’t changed. Neither have the accommodations or the other amenities. For example, Yarmouth’s “Motel ban” has meant that there have been no substantial changes in that industry for over ten years. We still have many restaurants and Bed-and-Breakfast places that come and go. There are some new miniature golf courses and some more movie theaters. But that’s it. Everything else has been around for the last twenty years.
It seems that tourism is looked down upon here. The reasons I have heard most are that the salaries are low and the work is seasonal. Many people would rather have manufacturing and other industries here on the Cape that pay better and have year around jobs. Cool, but what are these industries and where would they come from and why would they relocate to Cape Cod? The first thing any incoming industry would face is that Cape Cod and the Islands are detached from the mainland and not adjacent to major transportation arteries.
What can we do? I think there are two things. First, we can look to grow and nurture industries that are particular to us: fishing, oceanographic studies, environmental studies (we are a perfect wetlands laboratory), wastewater treatment, and, perhaps, alternative energy (the proposed Wind Farm excluded). More and more, the interaction between people and the oceans is becoming critical. What better place for this industry? We can also look to the talents of our people. For example, we have an enormous resource in the arts community here. Provincetown has already recognized this and is attracting people from all over the world to study with local artists.
The second thing we can do is to bring our tourist industry into the 21st century. There are many places that thrive on tourism year ‘round without having the amenities with which we are blessed, and they don’t rely on low wages to survive.
Of course the best example of this is Walt Disney World, a tourist complex built in the swamps of central Florida, where it is unbearably hot for a good part of the year. I am not suggesting that we try to turn the Cape into another Disneyland, but there are several lessons to be learned from the mouse. It has a transportation system that is amazing. There are 30 or more destinations within the 40 square miles of the park and you can get from any one of them to any other by bus, monorail or boat without ever waiting more than twenty minutes (think of what a system like that would do to ease our summer traffic jams!). It is clean. It is beautiful. It is well organized. It has several layers of things to do for people of all ages. In short, Walt Disney World has the infrastructure, transportation and attractions to please millions of tourists each year. Perhaps even more important, the mouse provides lots of jobs at all pay levels.
In order to bring our tourist economy up to date, we need new infrastructure, an immensely improved transportation system, better coordination and organization, more attractions for children and teenagers and a better outlook about our number one industry. If we could accomplish this, then the local jobs would increase and the pay rates would rise. Furthermore, we’d be able to meet some wonderful people without having to compete with them for road space.
Happy New Year, and may all your wishes come true.
Bill Richmond is an architect living and working in Yarmouth Port. He may be reached at WHRichmond@comcast.net.
