Rethinking Jamaica’s tourism strategy
THE CONTINUOUS extension of the ‘enhanced security measures’ in the resort town of Montego Bay and its environs is perhaps the greatest indication of tourism’s failure to improve the lives of ordinary Jamaicans. In fact, the Senate’s last unanimous approval for continuance through to November 1, 2018, should perhaps compel all Jamaicans to once and for all address the elephants lining our north-western shores.
There is little doubt that St James is the island’s most tourism-dependent parish. Yet, despite the boast of record-breaking visitor arrivals, amounting to almost 4.3 million in 2017, the tourist haven is impacted by incredible levels of youth disenfranchisement, under-employment and unemployment. Thankfully, the zone of special operation has not immediately dampened tourists’ interest in Jamaica. In fact, stopover arrivals for the first six months of 2018 celebrated a 5.7 per cent year-to-date increase.
CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
The excellent status of the tourism industry does, however, beg the question of why St James rank among the parishes with high murder rates. Of equal concern is the significant number of young Jamaicans who have opted to rely on scamming and other variants of crime as their primary source of income. It further prompts the concern of whether ‘Montegonians’ are benefiting from tourism and, just as important, if tourism in its current form can truly be the panacea for Jamaica’s economic woes?
Sadly, the inequitable distribution of Jamaica’s tourism spoils was appropriately raised by the United Nation World Tourism Organization’s, Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, at last November’s Global Tourism Conference, ironically hosted in the second city. Professor Rifai audaciously likened Jamaica’s current tourism model to a “modernday plantation”. Unsurprisingly, the depiction ruffled more than a few feathers. However, the analogy should perhaps be viewed as a serious call to rethink the current model and strategy of tourism development. As Jamaica’s tourism has really proven to be neither socially nor economically inclusive.
The time is thus nigh for Jamaica to move its development strategy beyond the walls of all-inclusive enclaves and on to our streets, and further into our communities.