Is the Jamaican Prime Minister's focus misplaced? You decide. While I fully appreciate the underlying gist of the Prime Minister’s observation, I would disagree with his position that Jamaica does not have enough attractions. Admittedly, the country must address quality of product and service at some attractions.
Focus on human and cultural resources
Prime Minister Golding acknowledged that it is the Jamaican people, and culture that create the country’s “mystique”. The Honourable Prime Minister is absolutely correct! Jamaica should therefore focus on these two important resources – human and cultural – to strengthen its position in tourism.
Look to the legacy of the multiplicity of races that shaped the island motto, ‘out of many, one people’. Look to the marketability of the country’s dynamic and evolving heritage. Look to local communities for a distinctive Jamaican ‘experience’. It is imperative to make the linkages in policy and development planning. Only recently, as seen in a previous entry, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund and the World Bank signed an agreement for the advancement of community-based tourism in rural Jamaica. This is the type of initiative that should address the PM’s concerns about satisfying the visitor.
Resort towns enjoy greatest tourism activity in Jamaica. However, authentic heritage experiences are concentrated in the country's rural communities. Resort map extracted from the Ministry of Tourism's, Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development (Compact Disc, 2002).
Jamaica must promote a distinctive cultural heritage spectrum as part of its tourism marketing campaign. The heritage spectrum is an overlapping and holistic concept. It recognizes that there are limitless components that make up the heritage experience, and as such it is not recommended that heritage be cast in a box or defined and marketed along a single line. Heritage is encompassing. It is tangible and intangible; natural and cultural; urban and rural. It celebrates then, now, and the future. My humble opinion - Jamaica should focus its attention and resources on developing its 'God-given' assets.
The Accompong maroon museum in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica is among several cultural landmarks in need of development.
Wrong focus
Small islands do not need a myriad of attractions. We must think about the already precarious environmental vulnerabilities these countries face, and their infrastructural capacity to adequately facilitate numerous man-made facilities. Let us also be mindful that man-made attractions won’t give small islands a competitive edge in the global tourism market. These are experiences that are offered in every other destination!
Finally, islands should encourage and facilitate local investment to develop existing heritage sites and attractions, as well as cultural/indigenous communities. It is not particularly encouraging when the Jamaican Prime Minister’s charge for cultural investment is directed at the international market.
Note also two salient points concerning this timely intervention in community-based tourism. The project, if adequately undertaken, could see a reduction in rural to urban migration; as well as the start of ‘model’ public-private-community partnerships (PPCPs) in the Caribbean and Jamaica. These are not potential achievements to take lightly.
I think back to a timeless lesson I learnt as a child from the folk song, ‘no man is an island’ to follow-up on previous posts in which I argue that islands must show individual resilience in global heritage.
I pointed out that despite the range of vulnerabilities which are a commonality amongst most islands; a few have managed to make their mark in global heritage because of their resilience in shaping sustainable local heritage industries. I would have also suggested that islands must actively develop their ‘distinctiveness’ in order to become competitive forces in global heritage.
While I unreservedly hold to that outlook, it’s important to present a caveat. Individual resilience is essential, but, the heritage industry is such that it requires strategic local and regional partnerships. This is especially true for small islands that compete against their developing and developed neighbours not by choice, but necessity.
Facilitating heritage ‘regionalism’
In the heritage industry selling ‘individuality’ as a marketing approach is important, but ‘co-opting’ can be tremendously valuable. The fruits may not be evident in the short term, but, I truly believe that ‘no island should stand alone’ if as a unit they can create lasting (not fleeting) ‘magic’ in global heritage. Where am I going with this? In a phrase: heritage ‘regionalism’. The idea is to create an administrative and marketing district for the heritage industry within regions or creating sub-clusters within regions.
There are at least three defined (or should I say recognized) regions associated with SIDS: the Caribbean, the Pacific and the AIMS (Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean and South-China Seas) region. But we know from the research that there are islands that are essentially excluded from these ‘defined’ spaces for various reasons. This presents a whole other debate that must be had!
But back to the merits of co-opting. In addition to their extreme smallness, islands of the Pacific are disadvantaged because of their remoteness. They are literally isolated from major tourism markets. I would argue that with this reality Pacific islands must strengthen their domestic market, and ramp up creative partnerships in marketing regional tourism. Looking at the kind of competition which these islands face in (heritage) tourism, it makes sense for them to band together.
Australia, New Zealand and East Asian developing countries such as China are among their biggest competition. If we are to go by the World Heritage List (WHL) - the unofficial benchmark for ‘fuelling’ tourism activity - then China’s over thirty listed sites may be deemed a threat to Pacific islands.
The charge may have to be led by Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands which already hold political clout in world heritage. That prestige aside, the twenty islands (including the US territories) provide immeasurable cultural experiences. If the islands are to make the most of their assets ‘heritage regionalism’ is the best approach in attracting international tourists to their shores. To some extent it is being done, but it has to be structured and coordinated for sustained impact. Visit the WHC portal to view incredible images and videos of world heritage in the Pacific http://whc.unesco.org/en/events/496
Vanuatu boasts a unique tradition of sand drawing as part of its intangible heritage. Source:http://www.unesco.org/culture/
Heritage tourism and long haul travel
Similarly, the Caribbean must heed the benefits of coordinated (sub) regional partnerships. The islands which are working feverishly to diversify their tourism markets and product stand a better chance of attracting ‘non- traditional’ markets such as Asia and Oceania if they pitch a ‘regional’ heritage experience, and not a ‘single’ island heritage experience. It makes economic sense especially for the potential cultural tourist contemplating travelling half way across the globe for a vacation!
While the 'individual' island approach worked for mass tourism, it may not be as fruitful for (re) emerging niche markets like cultural heritage. In fact, the niche requires a completely different kind of management and positioning. Islands, many of which are often heavily dependent on tourism, must pay attention to details they didn’t before such as transportation to long haul destinations.
I’m watching with interest Trinidad and Tobago’s Caribbean Airlines partnership (hate to think of it as a take-over) with Air Jamaica. I gather the mantra for the partnership is dubbed, “one Caribbean airline, two brands”. This is a commendable and workable marketing approach – you sell the ‘Caribbean’, but hold firm to the ‘individual’ branding of each airline and country.
Map of the Caribbean. Source: World Heritage Centre.
Importantly, I’m hopeful that in the medium to long term this partnership will facilitate ‘regional’ heritage development. The merger can facilitate the kind of dual-multi destination travel that is central to island heritage tourism. Admittedly, it will take very careful planning. It’s not a short term project because addressing the issue of long haul travel, by itself, is a challenge. Additionally, the ‘packaging’ logistics would have to be worked out bearing in mind the geographic outlay of the region. The Eastern Caribbean may have to be ‘packaged’ as a single heritage experience; while Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands may be tailored to facilitate another distinct Caribbean heritage experience. But these and similar considerations are doable and worthwhile.
Living in Japan, having visited a couple other Asian countries, and simply interfacing with nationals from all over the region, I concur with existing thought that Asians (who tend to be nature and cultural heritage lovers) are yearning for Caribbean flavor. And I mean much more than satisfying their thirst for Blue Mountain Coffee or their hunger for reggae music! The truth is this yearning can prove to be an expensive ‘taste’ for the cultural tourist. Marketing and packaging (co-opting) the ‘Caribbean’ is the way to go to help make the trip more attractive for the visitor. What could be more exciting for a purposeful cultural tourist than ‘island hopping’, taking in the incredible heritage diversity to be had over two or three weeks?
Jamaica’s Falmouth Water Square in circa 1740. Today, the Falmouth Historic District is home to the largest intact collection of Georgian buildings in the Caribbean
Promise of a ‘political’ force
The need for regional co-opting goes beyond economics. Think of the political leverage that is possible if as a unit each region were to lobby for more global support in heritage. Countries would be better able to tackle old and emerging threats to the industry such as climate change. This is a debate that’s heating up the world over, however, I’ve seen very little correlation made between climate change and heritage.
It would be a pleasant and welcome surprise if a single country is able to have its voice heard on this issue. But I suspect that if countries were to create and present a ‘regional’ voice, they would see definitive movements. The Pacific, with their extreme environmental vulnerabilities should stand to benefit most from the approach.
While islands must remain steadfast in building resilience in their local heritage industries, it’s important not to lose sight of the possibilities of ‘regional’ alliances.
I will have the honour of participating in the 2nd Island Dynamics Conference in Valletta, Malta May 11-15, 2011. My presentation will of course focus on island heritage. The presentation, Neighbours: ‘distances apart’: Comparing heritage tourism in Jamaica and Cuba will bring to the fore the long-standing thinking that, “each small economy is unique”.
Open-air museum embraces 7,000 years of history
I couldn’t think of a more ideal location to debate this issue because the island of Malta reflects the variances and contradictions of these small land masses. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea the Maltese archipelago consists of three islands- Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Together the islands are home to an estimated 400,000 inhabitants. Malta is the largest of the three islands.
Naturally, I have been reading all I can on Malta. According to the official tourism site for the islands, Malta is the cultural, commercial and administrative hub of the archipelago; Gozo offers a diversity of natural experiences to include fishing and agriculture, while Comino is largely uninhabited.
Having always been drawn to the concept of the open air museum, I was struck by the fact that these islands have been so categorized, with Malta alone promising 7,000 years of history! This I’m excited about! Already I have a ‘feel’ of the island through the array of photographs that can be viewed at http://www.visitmalta.com/the-maltese-islands
The Singapore Contradiction
The images and the general data on Malta make for interesting reading. But as I suggested at the start Malta contradicts what we know and understand about small islands and the vulnerabilities they face. It mirrors islands like Singapore in Asia; and Barbados in the Caribbean, which reflect high standards of living. I’m sure you would have heard about the Singapore Contradiction, which argues that the success of islands like Singapore “was achieved in spite of and not because of their small size and insularity”.
Despite their vulnerabilities some islands often out-perform their developing and developed country counterparts in various aspects of development, chief among them human development. A look at the Human Development Index (HDI) in recent years demonstrates the point.
Island 'contradictions' and Heritage
Valletta: View from the sea
Intangibles on show: Umbrella Lace Market
In relation to heritage, there are islands that have managed to comfortably conserve and safeguard their heritage assets to position them as powerful players in regional and global heritage. Malta boasts three sites on the World Heritage List, including the city of Valletta. From all indications, the island is taking advantage of the prestigious listings. Importantly, however, these islands have managed to shape strong communities seeped in cultural appreciation and knowledge as a direct result of the value (including investments) placed on heritage.
Merchant Street in Valletta is home to the famous St.Catherine of Italy Church
That ‘each small economy is unique’ is a truism I hope to demonstrate in my own presentation on Jamaica and Cuba. I suspect that it will also be brought into sharp focus from simply being in Malta.
God willing, come May 11-15 you can look forward to daily postings about the Island Dynamics Conference, and of course the breath-taking sites of Malta right here, and from the main hub http://www.islanddynamics.org/blog.html. I hope to leave that experience having a fuller understanding of the ‘contradictions’ that pervade island heritage.
Photographs courtesy of Malta Tourism Authority www.viewingmalta.com
'Backward' Planning - that's the most suitable description of the travesty outlined in this article. Two mistakes were made in this development initiative: one, the poor showing of local participation in the development planning, and two the abstract approach in packaging the heritage value of the town as a core element of the visitor experience.
It amazes me that a cruise ship pier appears to be the appeal and preferred approach for bringing tourism to Falmouth. Strange, indeed. Falmouth does not need cruise ships to make it into a successful tourism hub. As a historic centre, its heritage values must be fully explored, with its locals understanding the need to conserve and safeguard the town's assets, plus 'buying' into the potential of the area as a heritage tourism destination.
Unfortunately local authorities bend to the pressures of what is 'popular' to the detriment of what is sacred; and buckle to the views that tradition and custom is not in keeping with progress. We have it all wrong, if we seriously believe that we are doing the town of Falmouth, and its people sustained 'good' with this development. Having read this article I can only conclude that Falmouth today is a 'woken, yet broken' town.
Images of Falmouth's architectural heritage
Photographs: G.Tate
The ruins of 17th century Colbeck Castle is one of my favourite sites in Jamaica.
I fell in love with the ruins of St. Paul - a 16th century Catholic Church in the historic district of Macao.
No- the Island Heritage List (IHL) is not created as a‘look-a-like’ to the World Heritage List! In fact there are no processes attached to the IHL. The idea is to provide a platform which celebrates and recognizes island heritage distinctiveness through an intermingling of tangible and intangible assets.
The only requirement is simply to provide a brief about the nominated heritage asset/ experience. It’s not a statement of justification! Remember the mantra in this space is that every heritage is worth celebrating.
This is intended to be a holistic exercise. I’m pretty certain we will be hearing about places and experiences never before highlighted (at least not in the mainstream). It’s therefore an ideal opportunity to promote your island uniqueness!
But we hope to also make this effort – your effort- worthwhile on the political front. Island Heritage-scape is always mindful that island vulnerabilities continue to impede fair play in various areas of development including heritage. The intent is to use the data over time to contribute to an overall assessment of SIDS presence in global heritage, and lobby for prominent place and ‘special treatment’ for SIDS in global heritage.
Experiencing 'side-walk' dining in Singapore.
We always want to learn about what’s out there - from the 'mythical-modern' allure of the Asia-Pacific islands; to the ‘assorted’ offerings in the AIMS region; and embracing the ‘magnetic’ appeal of the Caribbean - let the nominations begin…simply, suggest your 'heritage asset/experience' in the commentary box below.
Festivals are an intrinsic part of heritage in the Caribbean.
