My question is: If you are not into scuba and paying $400 to rent a jet ski for an hour, what the hell is there to do in Tobago? You go to the beach with a cooler and friends, get tight, get black, buy a one-sided towel on Store Bay that will take you twice as long to dry off and that's it! Why...why have the tourism industries of Jamaica and Barbados rebounded this season, in some areas reporting 80 per cent capacity? Sure marketing is part of it, but I am certain that these countries understand the importance of competing with other destinations around the world. You must also bear in mind that in our neighbouring islands there are a myriad of activities for the traveller. I strongly believe that when it comes to T&T there is something to be said for understanding the nature of the market you live in. I read a few years ago where a tourist who visited Tobago complained that the island was pricing itself out of the market. It is something that I concur with wholeheartedly. For me there are many things that I love about travelling around T&T, but this is my home! We have a tendency to beat our chests and say we are the best and then send a troupe of tourists to an unmanned facility at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary and charge them $500 to "maybe" seem something in the swamp. It is the story of our lives in this country. Nothing is wrong with the product, what sucks is the packaging and market. Hoteliers and tour operators have to stop bellyaching about the downturn in the global economy and fight for the business of the traveller. New York is just one example of a million other places the vacationer can go before casting an eye on us.