Gay cruises draw protests.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said he will meet with evangelicals in Dominica seeking restrictions on gay cruises, which have drawn some protests elsewhere in the Caribbean, reports AP (Nov. 9,2006):

Dominica has no restrictions on the tours, but Skerrit said he will meet soon with

the Evangelical Association to outline the government's position on gay cruises stopping in the island. Bill Daniel, the group's president, said Skerrit "We want the government to ensure that gay tourists do not come to the island and conduct themselves in any immoral way," he said, adding that he did not want Dominica portrayed "as a gay tourist destination." "We don't have any problem with gay cruises coming to Dominica," said Francisco Esprit, a board member of the Dominica Taxi Association. "We see it as part of the business and we are yet to receive any negative comments from our members about gay tourism";

Despite their image as a sun-and-surf playground, many Caribbean islands remain socially conservative. Protesters held a small demonstration against a gay cruise stopping in February in the Cayman Islands, which refused in 1998 to allow a gay cruise to dock. A cruise ship carrying lesbians that docked in the Bahamas was met by protesters in 1998.