Construction and tourism are the twin pillars of the island economy. Take away either one and the island economy is no longer viable. (Perhaps one could argue that the island would still be a last great place without a thriving year-round community, but KeepOurPlace.com will have none of that. Keeping our place means, among other things, continuing to be an island where young couples want to, and can, make their homes and raise their children.)

So the island economy needs the next $100 million of development. But it also needs the next 15 years of visitors. There are at least three kinds. First are the daydrinkers, who treat the island like Misquamicut, heading straight for the bars, with maybe a few laps on a rental motorcycle (chin on the handlebars, thumb on the horn, helmet on the back seat) to break the monotony. Then there are the enclavers, who treat the island like Watch Hill, driving off the boats in their Land Rovers filled with organic brie, and disappearing into their hedge-surrounded properties until it is time to leave.

In the middle are those who treat BI like, well, BI. They come for 3-14 days, stay in the hotels, eat all their meals in the restaurants, buy BIwear in the stores, bike the paved roads, walk the Greenway, and decompress at the beach. Call them the BImmersion visitors. They come precisely because BI is still different from the mainland, and they are the indispensible core of the tourism economy. Lose them and it would take a lot of additional daydrinkers to make up the difference.

So here is a role for the Chamber of Commerce. We spend a lot of advertising money telling people why they *should* come to BI. Have we done enough surveying to know why they actually *do* come to BI? Have we solicited the names from hotels and realtors of people who used to come regularly but have stopped, so we can find out why?

Since we are talking about the economy, we probably need a “bottom line.” So here it is. The island builders need the next $100 million of work, but it can come in either compact, finely-architected million-dollar projects or bloated, cheesy, million-dollar projects. Island builders are extraordinarily skillful, and are up to the task either way.

The island also needs the next 15 years of BImmersion visitors and they likely care a *lot* about what that next $100 million of development looks like. Try immersing yourself in Watch HIll. You can’t. Try immersing yoourself in Misquamicut. You can’t. How much do the BImmersion visitors care?

Why don’t we ask them?

Tomorrow: Theory Two: It’s the Stewardship, Stupid.