I heard a rather interesting piece from the BBC's "Sport International" (via satellite on XM Radio) about next year's ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 that will be played at a variety of new or remodeled venues across the West Indies. A couple thoughts...

1. I don't know much about cricket other than that it is huge in a number of countries around the world. I've watched it and admittedly, I always try to apply my knowledge of American baseball with little success. I shouldn't be surprised! I would like to spend some time learning it and thought, "what better way to learn cricket than to attend the world cup? Even better, do it aboard a charter boat and hopefully find a couple venues on neighboring islands that would allow sailing to different matches on different days!
2. Given the devastation many of the West Indies experienced with Hurricane Ivan and others is rapid succession, many of the islands are behind in their preparations for the event. In addition to building the infrastructure to support an international sporting event, many are still busy trying to regain their pre-hurricane standard of living. The area where some islands are struggling (particularly Grenada) is on the hotel front. There is some concern that there will be enough hotels to support the volume of tourists. Dramatic measures, such as chartering cruise ships to serve as floating hotels, are being considered.

All of this made me wonder why the charter industry is not trying to do more to attract this audience? This would be a great way to attract new charter clients and help address the challenges these areas face as the address the demand for lodging to accomodate this infux of tourists.