Focus on White Guests

The first major theme found within the content analysis is the presence of a white majority through the depiction of the resort guests across all five nations observed. The total number of guests in all images collected was 143 with 119 of them being white or lighter skinned for a total of over 80% of the total population of guests. The remaining 24 combined black and darker skinned guests do not even surpass the number of black and darker skinned workers shown, which was 25 out of a total of 33 workers observed. The representation of race in this case is representative of the Caribbean’s target demographic for their visitors and who they want to draw into their businesses. More specifically, the target demographic could be narrowed down as white couples. It was found that there were 29 couples who shared a similar race, 26 of which were white.

Credit: Women in a pool. CC-BY.

This accounts for over 35% of total guests shown in data, all of which displayed heteronormative behaviors, creating an even bigger target for parents who want to vacation to spend time alone without their kids, or couples that do not yet have children. One example of this display can be seen in an image from a Puerto Rican resort that shows two white couples in an outdoor area, smiling and toasting each other with their drinks. They can be identified as couples because of their proximity to one another and body language as well.

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Credit: Couples out drinking casually. CC-BY.

This portrays ideas of happiness among each other and the absence of children in both couple’s cases is easily seen as well since they are the only four in the frame of the image. Another image that portrays a white target demographic is from an Aruban website that shows a husband and wife after getting married. They are looking at each other smiling romantically on the beach with the man in a suit, and women in a white dress holding flowers.

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Credit: Couple getting married by Hilton. CC-BY

Considering the cost that a wedding reception must cost to have at a resort’s private beach, this continues the theme of a white-targeted market. The luxury and cost of this kind of event while being portrayed by white people produces the stereotypical trope of the wealthy white society in the western world and how resorts may prefer business from white people due to their ability to spend large amounts of money for the resort’s services.

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Credit: Couples in a dining room by Royalton Resorts. CC-BY.

One more example of the target demographic is an image from a Dominican website that shows two couples sitting separately at a restaurant. Both couples are seen to be white, and in a more upscale dining area that can be observed through the presence of two wine glasses in front of each person, and the black server wearing a vest and tie. The depiction of such luxuries being enjoyed by white guests repetitively on these different websites establishes that the wealthy white couples are the main target for these resorts, because they have the disposable income that is necessary to enjoy all of the resort’s accommodations.