LOCAL RESIDENT COMMITTEE Your role is to argue against the expansion of the tourist industry.

The key arguments are: Although hotels provide employment, wages are low and the people who work in them are still poor. The hotels are mostly under foreign ownership so the local people do not benefit enough from them. Land is scarce in Alchemia and an increasing amount of land is used by tourism so most local people are unable to buy land or property. The local peoples access to beaches is decreasing because of the building of hotels. Only wealthy Alchemists can afford to fly so most local people will not benefit from money spent on a new airport to take super jumbos. An increase in the number of tourists would put additional pressure on water supplies. An increase in the number of tourists from different cultures with different cultural practices could have a negative influence on the local cultures and threaten their preservation as tourists do not always respect indigenous cultures. An increase in tourism could lead to an increase in crime, vandalism and pollution.

Information on Alchemists The total population of Alchemia is 1 230 000. The people of Alchemia are known as Alchemists. English is the official language of the people of the island. But it is spoken by less than 4% of the people. About 78% of the people speak in Creole language. The other languages are 5% French, 6% Latin and 7% others. A large number of ethnic communities live on the island comprising 66% of Franco-Alchemist and 33% Creole. The population consists of 46% Catholics, 27% Hindus, 18% Muslims and 9% Rastafarians. Multiculturalism is a characteristic feature of the island of Alchemia. The Creole community of Alchemia descended from slaves and laborers of Asia and Africa. Franco-Alchemists are the descendants of the original French colonists. The Chinese people of Alchemia immigrated in Mauritius in the mid-19th century.