That's what we heard from pretty much everyone we spoke with while on vacation sailing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (we just got back last night. I am so not ready to get back to work!). The word was that there were markedly fewer people there from the U.S., and that they missed us horribly because we spend a lot of money and we don't tend to haggle over everything the way they say the Europeans do!
You know the ripples of the bad economy here in the U.S. spread far and wide, but when the guys selling fresh fish and ice from their dinghies in the Tobago Keys are noting a serious shortage of Americans, it really is striking just how far that can be. And, according Phylis, our taxi driver in St. Vincent, they're only starting to see the shortage, because people like us who booked their trips and paid their money long before the economy headed south are still coming, but not so many new trips are being booked right now.
The upside is that everyone was really glad to see us (and our money)! And we also got lots of kudos on our choice of president—Obama seems to be at least as popular in the Caribbean as he is in the U.S.
We had a great trip, with great weather, and I would recommend Barefoot Yacht Charters to anyone and everyone considering a sailing trip in SVG. Tell Seth we sent you!