Leave no one out

Desmond Henry

TREASURE BEACH:

THE MESSAGE emerging from last weekend's Community Tourism workshop in Montego Bay, was very emphatic. It was a kind of sectoral take-off of that very dramatic conversational decline "Hell No". It was "L-Noo" ­ leave no one out. It was another way of saying include everyone, every activity, every community.

After two days of sparkling presentations, delegates from everywhere agreed that community tourism was the hospitality trend of the future, and that Jamaica had both the understanding and the resources to lead the region.

Based on closer examination however, it was also clear that there was a far greater immediate need for education, participation and reaching out. That's why the workshop's official document, now in preparation, Community Tourism ­ The Way Forward, will be so important as a working tool and a blueprint for future development. In terms of an eye opener, especially to rural off-the-beach delegates, the possibilities of community tourism were both frightening and welcoming.

Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke opened the proceedings with an address that showed good grasp and understanding. That was not surprising since Sir Howard is a rural man ­ a Montego Bay man ­ to boot. He was followed by Lou D'Amore that little dynamite of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) based in Vermont, USA, Alwyn Bully, UNESCO's Caribbean representative, gave support from a regional perspective, while Diana McIntyre-Pike IIPT's Caribbean president backgrounded us in how we came to where we are.

Four specific workshops dealing in training, product development, marketing and funding, consumed the next day and a half providing guidelines and recommendations on the way forward. Dr. Noel Brown, IIPT chairman, and perhaps one of Jamaica's most pervasive internationalists, gave an outstanding luncheon address, and subsequent workshop summaries.

Delegates from rural Jamaica already invol-ved in some aspect of community tourism, spoke of their needs and aspirations in a way that said thanks for this timely coming together.

They learnt, for example, that community tourism was all-embracing ­ including everything, excluding nothing. It meant all aspects of traditional tourism, but also included the new market demands of ecology, heritage, tours, festival, hobbies, culture, adventure, education and research, visiting friends and relatives, religious activities, and a host of other interests now being sought by travellers worldwide.

They were told that community tourism is one of the fastest growing, high-spending end of the travel market, and that as medical science warns of the dangers of too much sun on the beaches, more and more travellers are demanding non-beach activities.

The workshop reports were frank and plain speaking. There were calls, for example, for far greater show of interest in community tourism by the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board. Some suggested the setting up of a special Community Tourism Division somewhere within the structure. The fact that community tourism caters to the higher-income markets, could be a partial answer to some of the problems of the small accommodations sector.

Also because it brings visitors and hosts together in special and realistic ways, it could speak well for the future of shared incomes, shared interests and shared experiences. The flip side of this, however, is that if the experiences are not wholesome and memorable, then there is a greater risk of future danger to the destination. And that's where education comes in.

The single most agreed recommendation was for the publication of an elementary practical guide to community tourism ­ a kind of step-by-step handbook showing the benefits and the dangers; how to organise and prepare; where to get funding; where to find technical support; how to educate; how to market and merchandise, and how to tour-guide and be tour-wise. A programme of community sensitisation in all its forms, was seen as a major need in the country's effort to get a leg up on this market. The JTB should become far more involved in supporting local, private efforts. JHTA president Josef Forstmayr spoke supportingly of these thoughts during a summary address.

Some presenters were particularly outstanding including Carolyn Hayle, Bevon Morrison, and David Brown.

A doctoral student from Kentucky University has already started plans to bring scores of students, starting next year, on credit courses study of community tourism in Jamaica. Rural delegations from Westmoreland, St. Thomas, Trelawny, Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth pleaded not to be left out in the scheme of things.

Intensive follow-up work is now in progress especially in preparing the final document. After that, the theme of the workshop will become the theme of the workplace.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Love is the only game that's played best without lights.

Desmond Henry is a marketing strategist based in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.

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