Lets just say a load of people, I mean average people like your parents get given this and told its like Bitcoin. Guess what they are gonna do with it?
What would your parents and grandparents do with it.
BINGO!!!!
Expect the biggest dumps in crypto history as they sell them for 'real' money.
Why would this coin be less suited for payment than bitcoin? If the coin has a demand for buying - it gets value. If we assume that the islanders have no interest to use this coin as a means of payment, fine, its like all the other altcoins. At a worst case scenario, it ends up being a scam, so make your investments according to your expectations.
However, this coin is ultimately an experiment, what if it succeeds?