Behind the Smile: The Working Lives of Caribbean Tourism

Building on his experience writing about Caribbean migrants and Barbados history and culture, Union College anthropology professor Gmelch presents an intriguing, but ultimately cursory, look at the world of Caribbean tourism. He profiles 20 men and women who work in Barbados's tourism industry, from maids and hotel managers to taxi drivers and diving instructors. By doing so, Gmelch finds answers to some questions about how tourism workers view their clients' affluent lifestyle, moral character and pursuit of leisure. Rather than drawing conclusions (or even commenting on his findings) however, the author prefers to let his subjects speak for themselves. For example, Gmelch makes no commentary about hotel water sports supervisor Zerphyl Greaves's belief that""sometimes you get the feeling that maybe they tourists don't like you because you're a different color.... Sometimes you hear comments like, 'These black people don't really know how to do things right.'"" Nonetheless, despite its lack of comprehensive analysis, this wide-reaching study provides a useful document about how Caribbean residents feel about the many visitors to their islands.