Peter Espeut THIS WEEK is Tourism Awareness Week, and I would like to contribute by saying something about the government's 'Ten-Year Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development'. I find that many government agencies parade the buzz word 'sustainable' without knowing what it means. The most ludicrous is JAMPRO which a few years ago identified its non-metallic minerals mining projects as 'sustainable'.
But this plan for "sustainable tourism" is different. I have read both the hefty plan document and the summary in booklet form, and to their credit it is clear that the authors (and therefore the Ministry of Tourism itself) know what "sustainable tourism" is. It is therefore an unusual and remarkable document.
The booklet begins with an admission: "The main thing the Master Plan seeks to do is to move tourism on to a path of long-term sustainability" (emphasis theirs). This is a clear statement that up until now, the path of 'tourism development' has not been sustainable, hence the need for the 'move'. Environmentalists like myself have been saying this for years, what with the widespread destruction of wetlands and coral reefs on the north coast in the name of 'tourism development'. The admission is welcome and the commitment to a new path is not a moment too soon.
MEETING NEEDS
The overall objective is stated thus: "We need to develop tourism in such a way that it meets the needs of today's residents and visitors, while protecting and improving the opportunities of future generations to meet their needs". Readers will recognise the echo of the definition of sustainable development which came out of the Rio 'Earth Summit' in 1993. It is a laudable approach!
Five 'key objectives' of sustainable tourism development are defined. The first is "Growth based on a Sustainable Market Position", which is based on exploiting our comparative advantage, offering visitors what no other destination can offer: our natural, cultural and historical heritage. This means a future emphasis on 'nature tourism' and 'heritage tourism' rather than just on what can be described as the 'sea, sun, sand, sex and sensemelia tourism' of the past.
The second key objective is 'Enhancement of the Visitor Experience', which means cleaning up the towns and communities frequented by visitors, and the development of a greater variety and higher quality of tourism attractions. Here more of Jamaica's natural wonders and heritage sites will be exposed to visitors both local and foreign, with proper attention being paid to sustainability issues and overcrowding. This leads to the following.
The third: 'Community-Based Development', where local communities will play a major role in deciding what the tourism product in their communities should be, and in developing and managing that product. Too often in Jamaica, resort development has been imposed on rural communities by outsiders, reducing locals to low-salaried employees. The new Master Plan calls for locals to take part in the ownership and management of the industry in their area, so profits remain in the community for local advancement, instead of migrating to urban areas or overseas. If this element of the Plan is implemented it will have profound and far-reaching consequences for Jamaica's human, economic and social development.
The fourth objective is "The building of an Inclusive Industry" which develops this idea further. Some people see tourism as benefiting only a chosen few, but the Master Plan seeks to spread tourism benefits more widely by expanding the scope of opportunities for participation, including strengthening the linkages with agriculture and manufacturing. More jobs and higher incomes will be the result. This is the key to controlling tourist harassment: give the community at large a big stake in the industry so that it is the community itself which will cause the harassers to flee!
'ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY'
The fifth is 'Environmental Sustainability', the heart of the concept of sustainability. The Plan overtly recognises that improvement in sewage disposal, garbage collection and disposal, the sediment load from upland soil erosion, freshwater and marine water quality, and live coral cover all are essential to Jamaica's tourism product. Carrying capacity (overuse) issues are also to be addressed. All this places environmental conservation and natural resource management squarely on the tourism agenda.
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and is Executive Director of an environment and development NGO.
