ISSN 0959-6119

International Journal of Contemporary

Hospitality Management

Volume 15, Number 3, 2003

Tourism and hospitality management in the Caribbean

Guest Editor: Chandana Jayawardena

Contents 134 Access this journal online Research in brief

176 Performance of tourism analysis:
135 Abstracts & keywords a Caribbean perspective
Chandana Jayawardena and
138 Editorial Diaram Ramajeesingh

140 Developing indigenous tourism: Research in brief

challenges for the Guianas 180 The state and tourism:
Donald Sinclair a Caribbean perspective
Hilton McDavid and
147 Towards an alternative tourism Diaram Ramajeesingh
for Belize
Ian Boxill Viewpoint
184 Tourism, linkages, and economic
151 Cuba: hero of the Caribbean? development in Jamaica
A profile of its tourism education Nikolaos Karagiannis
strategy
Pat Wood and Chandana Jayawardena Viewpoint
188 Policy coherence and sustainable
156 The future of hospitality education tourism in the Caribbean
in Grenada Anthony Clayton
Michelle L. McDonald and
Royston O. Hopkin Viewpoint
192 Terrorism and tourism:
161 Internal marketing of attitudes in Bahamas and Jamaica fight back
Caribbean tourism Godfrey Pratt
Anne P. Crick
Viewpoint
167 The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in the 195 International hotel managers and
Caribbean key Caribbean challenges
John J. Issa and Chandana Jayawardena Chandana Jayawardena and
K. Michael Haywood
Research in brief
172 The feasibility of Sabbath-keeping in 199 Book reviews
the Caribbean hospitality industry
Eritha Huntley and Carol Barnes-Reid

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 Developing indigenous tourism:
Abstracts challenges for the Guianas
Donald Sinclair
& Keywords Tourism, Comparative costs,
keywords Cultural synergy, Innovation, Guyana,
Suriname
As emergent tourism destinations, the
Guianas are new players in a game in which
rules have been agreed, strategies defined
and competition has been intense. New
players succeed by demonstrating creativity
and innovation and by seizing comparative
advantage. The possession of unique natural
attractions, the presence of indigenous
communities or rare cultural forms are all
precious resources commanding
comparative advantage for the Guianas.
However, because of the special character of
indigenous tourism, development of that
form of tourism is not possible without the
articulation and implementation of
appropriate policy measures. In the absence
of that policy infrastructure the possibilities
for error and conflict are immense. This
paper explores the key challenges in the path
of the development of indigenous tourism
and suggests clear policy guidelines that
should inform the development of indigenous
tourism in the pursuit of comparative
advantage.
Towards an alternative tourism for
Belize
Ian Boxill
Keywords Development, Tourism, Culture,
Location, Education, Belize
This paper argues that tourism development
in Belize should avoid going the traditional
mass tourism route of most Caribbean
destinations. Instead, it suggests that Belize
is at the appropriate stage in its development
to forge an alternative model, which draws
and builds on its geographical location,
history, culture and ecology. In making this
case, the paper identifies a number of
limiting and facilitating factors to tourism
development. These facilitating factors
recommend the alternative model.
Specifically, the alternative model includes
nature, education and community tourism;
and a type of cruise tourism that is linked to
education and culture. For this effort to
succeed, the paper recommends that
government and civil society work together
International Journal of to develop the country’s human resources
Contemporary Hospitality and to structure a strategy to achieve
Management the goals.
15/3 [2003]
Abstracts & keywords
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Cuba: hero of the Caribbean? A profile
of its tourism education strategy
Pat Wood and Chandana Jayawardena
Keywords Cuba, Hospitality industry, Tourism,
Workforce, Education, Vocational training
Features a realistic perspective of the current
hospitality and tourism paradigm in Cuba.
Previews the newly released hospitality and
tourism education strategy to be rolled out in
2003. Provides an evaluation of the tourism
and hospitality industry environment,
education environment, workforce and
change in policy. The authors made three
research trips to Cuba in 1997, 2001 and 2002.
A series of elite interviews were conducted in
Cuba, Jamaica and the UK with senior Cuban
policy makers. Current data and views from
Cuban partners and practitioners are used to
inform the discussion. Cuba continues to be
one of the most mystical tourist destinations
in the world with a phenomenal growth rate
during recent years. The new tourism
education strategy is a key for Cuba to once
again become the number one destination in
the Caribbean.
The future of hospitality education in
Grenada
Michelle L. McDonald and Royston O. Hopkin
Keywords Grenada, Hospitality management,
Human resource development, Tourism,
Stakeholders, Curriculum
The quality of hospitality education is a
topical issue. It is being increasingly realised
that the education level of tourism employees
impacts on the quality of a country’s tourism
industry. As the most tourism-oriented
region globally, the Caribbean is slowly
awakening to the realisation that, unless its
tourism employees are highly educated and
skilled, the region will continue to account
for an insignificant percentage of world
tourism arrivals. In Grenada, hospitality
education courses are limited, given the
small tourism plant and comparatively low
visitor arrivals. Research was undertaken by
one of the authors, to explore the opinions of
the accommodation sector about current
education provisions and the future direction
that courses should take. Integration of all
stakeholders in the implementation of the
broad education policy outlined by the
government is crucial to improving
hospitality education in Grenada to ensure a
competitive tourism industry.
[ 135 ]
Abstracts & keywords the perception of managers in the Jamaican
Internal marketing of attitudes in
tourism industry on this topic. A major
International Journal of Caribbean tourism
Contemporary Hospitality finding was that managers are reluctant to
Management Anne P. Crick
employ persons who have a strong desire to
15/3 [2003] 135-137
Keywords Tourism, Attitudes, Caribbean, observe the Sabbath. The researchers also
Internal marketing, Market share discovered that the law does not provide
specific provisions to protect the rights of
Tourism is the mainstay of the Caribbean
Sabbath-keepers. Managers are, however,
and the attitude of the people in the region
willing to make arrangements to facilitate
may have a significant impact on the success
these individuals whenever possible. This
of the industry. This paper analyzes the way
augurs well for students of hospitality
in which tourism authorities of three
management who desire to observe the
Caribbean destinations have internally
Sabbath. More research on this topic is
marketed tourism to their host populations
needed since this study is by no means
in order to encourage the desired attitudinal
exhaustive.
expressions. A matrix of five possible
responses to tourism was developed and each
of the three countries was found to occupy
Performance of tourism analysis:
different positions in the matrix. An analysis
a Caribbean perspective
Chandana Jayawardena and
of the internal marketing strategies
Diaram Ramajeesingh
determined that the countries adopted
different approaches based on their Keywords Analysis, Foreign exchange, Growth,
particular challenges but none of the Tourism, Financial performance, Revenue
approaches had achieved lasting success. The
Introduces a new concept, performance of
study concludes with recommendations for
tourism (POT) analysis as a tool for
future research.
measuring the performance of tourist
destinations. Comments on the Caribbean
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in the
region’s overdependence on tourism, and
Caribbean
examines the scope of foreign exchange
John J. Issa and Chandana Jayawardena
leakage. Tourism in the Caribbean generally
Keywords Holiday industry, Tourism, Quality, grows faster than the world average. Often
Caribbean, Hotels, Hospitality industry the success of tourism is measured from the
gross figures rather than the net figures.
Seeks to review the all-inclusive concept in
Presents data from four Caribbean countries,
the context of the Caribbean. The origin of
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Jamaica and
all-inclusives in the world and the Caribbean
St Lucia to explain the concept. Key findings
is analysed. The concept was first introduced
reflect surprising results. Based on the
in holiday camps in Britain during the 1930s.
analysis done, a relatively new tourism
Club Med is credited for popularizing the
destination in the Caribbean, Aruba, has
concept globally in the 1950s. However, the
outperformed mature tourist destination,
credit of introducing a luxury version of the
Jamaica, by 16 to one.
all-inclusive concept goes to a Jamaican
hotelier and co-author of this article. In
defining the concept of all-inclusives, one
The state and tourism: a Caribbean
cannot ignore the significant role Jamaica
perspective
Hilton McDavid and Diaram Ramajeesingh
has played. Currently, Jamaica has 17 of the
best 100 all-inclusive resorts in the world. Keywords Tourism, Developing countries,
Even though all-inclusives are occasionally Economic conditions, Regional development,
criticized, they are seen as a necessary evil. Government, Economic growth
Concludes by predicting that all-inclusives
Tourism, today, has not only emerged as the
are here to stay in the Caribbean and will
engine of growth but also become the largest
play a major role in tourism for the
and the fastest growing sector in the
foreseeable future.
Caribbean. For this reason the industry is
now viewed as one of the leading instruments
The feasibility of Sabbath-keeping in
of development in the region. Given the
the Caribbean hospitality industry
importance of the industry, it is incumbent
Eritha Huntley and Carol Barnes-Reid
on governments to orient tourism growth
Keywords Tourism, Hospitality, Religion, towards meeting the socioeconomic needs
Hospitality industry, Hotels, Holiday industry and environmental requirements of the
region. To meet these objectives, however,
This article addresses religious tolerance for
regional governments are required to play a
Sabbath-keepers in the hospitality industry.
greater role in directing and shaping the
The authors approach this issue by assessing
[ 136 ]
Abstracts & keywords future development of the industry. This
Terrorism and tourism:
paper strongly argues in favour of a greater
International Journal of Bahamas and Jamaica fight back
Contemporary Hospitality role in the industry, both through direct and
Management Godfrey Pratt
indirect market intervention, by
15/3 [2003] 135-137
governments of the region. Keywords Tourism, Competitive advantage,
Terrorism, Economic growth, Bahamas,
Tourism, linkages, and economic Jamaica
development in Jamaica This study highlights the fragility of the
Nikolaos Karagiannis
tourism industry in developing countries.
Keywords Development, Strategic planning, The overdependence of the Bahamas on the
Jamaica, Tourism, Industrial performance, tourism industry, for economic development,
Economic indicators is brought into focus here. The adroit efforts
of the directors of tourism for both the
This article offers, briefly, a
Bahamas and Jamaica are highlighted. Both
production-oriented development framework
governments saw the need to immediately
for Jamaica, based on growth-promoting
fund a revised marketing and advertising
linkages between tourism, commodity
campaign, in the aftermath of 9/11. An
production sectors, and complementary and
important factor in the recovery of both
related service industries. These linkages
destinations is the extent to which a coalition
can boost the Jamaican endogenous
of public and private sector tourism
competency and industrial competitiveness,
stakeholders in both countries committed
while improving the country’s
themselves to resolving the crisis quickly at
macroeconomic performance. Alternative
hand. The commitment of the public and
development policy considerations are also
private sector in these countries, to
within the scope of this article.
safeguarding and promoting this industry
probably positively correlated to the
Policy coherence and sustainable importance of the industry to the economy of
tourism in the Caribbean the countries, as evidenced by tourism’s
Anthony Clayton
contribution to their GDP.
Keywords Sustainable development, Tourism,
Policy management, Growth, International hotel managers and key
Economic conditions, Caribbean challenges
Environmental risk assessment Chandana Jayawardena and
K. Michael Haywood
The common failure to give due weight to
environmental and social factors creates a Keywords Hotels, Management styles,
risk that that short-term economic growth Tourism, Managers, Ethnic groups,
objectives may be traded off against International trade
long-term objectives, such as environmental
Broadly categorises hotel managers. Uses
quality. This potential policy conflict may be
lessons learnt by managing hotels in the
exacerbated in the developing countries that
Caribbean. Presents two recent models in the
are undergoing structural adjustment, as the
context of the Caribbean. States that clear
associated trimming of non-core public
awareness of the ‘‘ABC’’ related to the host
expenditure will typically include measures
community is a key step in public relations.
designed to manage the environment. Thus
Presents the ideal attributes and
the long-term future of the vital tourist
prerequisites for success in international
industry might be compromised in the
hotel management in a nutshell. Categorises
process of meeting short-term public
Caribbean countries based on the ethnic mix
expenditure reduction targets. The solution
and historic reasons for negative attitude
lies partly in improved policy coherence;
towards tourism. Expresses views on key
micro-level prescriptions are more likely to
challenges that expatriate hotel managers
be sustainable per se and also help to
face in the Caribbean. In conclusion, makes
underpin a wider process of sustainable
brief recommendations to international hotel
development if the appropriate policy
managers planning to work in the Caribbean.
framework is analysed and evolved
integrally, as part of a coherent national
plan. The need, therefore, is for an
appropriate, flexible structure that could
capture the business, environmental and
developmental aspects of tourism.

[ 137 ]

About the Guest Editor
Chandana Jayawardena is
Academic Director – MSc in
Tourism and Hospitality
Management, Senior Lecturer
in Tourism Management and
Research Fellow of the
University of the West Indies,
Jamaica. He has also held
Visiting Professorships in
Canada, the USA, Guyana, the
UK, Switzerland and Sri
Lanka. Among Chandi’s
publications and work
accepted for publication are
nine books, ten book chapters
and 30 articles. In an
international career spanning
31 years, Chandi has held a
variety of senior
management/senior
academic positions in Asia,
Europe, the Middle East,
South America, the Caribbean
and North America.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 138-139
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[ISSN 0959-6119]
[ 138 ]
Editorial
I am delighted to welcome Associate Editor
Dr Chandana Jayawardena as Guest Editor
of this unique collection of articles on
‘‘Tourism and Hospitality Management in the
Caribbean’’. In keeping with our goals,
Chandi has assembled an outstanding team
of practitioners and academics and together
they provide a rich array of insights on the
challenges facing tourism in the region. I
should like to thank Chandi for the many
months of planning that he devoted to this
issue and the team of contributors who have
made it possible.
Richard Teare
Editor
This issue is dedicated to the Caribbean,
arguably the most tourism dependent region
in the world. The Caribbean is a fascinating
and unique region. An archipelago of tropical
islands naturally decorated with exotic flora
and fauna, surrounded by blue sea water and
gentle breezes, and blessed with 365 days of
sunshine is the general impression of the
region in the minds of many. This image
made the Caribbean the most sought after
region for romantic holidays and
honeymoons in the world. But the Caribbean
has much more to offer to the millions of
tourists and cruise passengers it attracts
(Jayawardena, 2002). For convenience, the
term ‘‘Caribbean’’ is used in this special issue
to identify 33 destinations that are members
of the umbrella organization of the region’s
tourism industry, the Caribbean Tourism
Organization (CTO). In this definition, the
Caribbean region includes a few
countries/regions on the mainland in South
America and Central America. The area
between the south of Florida in the USA,
Cancun in Mexico, Belize in Central
America, Venezuela, and Suriname in South
America, is now referred to as the Caribbean.
although in the Atlantic Ocean, the Islands of
Bahamas and Bermuda too are treated as
Caribbean countries by the CTO.
Tourist arrivals to the 33 CTO member
states increased by approximately 59 per cent
from 1990 to 2000, or at an average of 4.7 per
cent. This compares favorably to 4.3 per cent
growth rate of world tourist arrivals over the
same period. Tourism receipts in the
Caribbean during the year 2000 were just
under US$20 billion, and the latest CTO
forecast predicts that this should rise to some
US$35 billion by the year 2112. The past,
present and future of Caribbean tourism in a
nutshell looks like that shown in Table I.
To external observers, the Caribbean is
always full of surprises. As an example,
many will be surprised to note that the four
Hispanic Caribbean states: Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Cancun and Puerto Rico record the
highest growth rates in the Caribbean, and
currently control around half of total arrivals
to the region. In 2000, only six Caribbean
countries attracted over one million tourists
and the arrival figures (in millions) in these
countries for 2000 were:
1 Cancun – 3.04;
2 Dominican Republic – 2.97;
3 Cuba – 1.77;
4 Bahamas – 1.60;
5 Jamaica – 1.32; and
6 Puerto Rico – 1.17 (CTO, 2002).
These six countries attracted 58 per cent of
the arrivals, reflecting something of an
imbalance in the distribution of tourism
wealth across the Caribbean.
Overdependence on one major market is
another problem in Caribbean tourism. With
the exception of a few countries, such as
Cuba, tourism in the Caribbean is
overdependent on the US feeder market. The
tourist arrival figures in the year 2000
indicate the six main feeder markets to the
Caribbean as:
1 USA – 50 per cent;
2 France – 8 per cent;
3 The Caribbean – 7 per cent;
4 Canada – 6 per cent;
5 UK – 6 per cent; and
6 Germany – 4 per cent.
The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the
USA and the reactions by US travellers posed
the biggest challenge to Caribbean tourism
since the Second World War. At a regional
summit of the heads of government of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held in
December 2001, the future of tourism was a
major item in the agenda. A vision for
Caribbean tourism to the year 2012 was
evolved at this summit. This vision speaks to:
The further development of a Caribbean
tourism industry that is fully understood and
embraced by the peoples of the region and
which, through co-operative action among
governments and with the private sector,
makes a significant and sustainable
contribution to development in both mature
and emerging destinations (CARICOM/CTO,
2002).
Editorial Table I
International Journal of Year 1990
Contemporary Hospitality
Management Tourist arrivals (in millions) 12.8
15/3 [2003] 138-139
Cruise passenger arrivals (in millions) 7.8
Total arrivals (in millions) 20.6
Room stock 152,000
The vision is predicated on the development
of a set of core strategies related to
sustainable development, investment,
marketing and access transport
arrangements which in turn will be
complemented by a set of support strategies
regarding human resource development,
organization and funding.
In the 13 articles selected for this special
issue, 16 authors address some of the current
issues that are relevant and significant to the
future development of tourism and
hospitality industry in the Caribbean.
Donald Sinclair examines the challenges
facing indigenous tourism in the emerging
destination of the Guianas. He argues that
great care is needed to preserve its cultural
heritage – one of the reasons for its
attractiveness to tourists. Ian Boxill develops
a similar theme as he reviews the tourism
potential for Belize. He argues for an
alternative to the mass tourism route,
founded on nature, education and
community tourism and an approach that
will help to sustain the history, culture and
ecology of Belize.
In order to research their article on Cuba’s
tourism education strategy, Patricia Wood
and Chandana Jayawardena undertook three
field visits and among others, they
interviewed senior Cuban policymakers. The
outcomes reveal some surprising insights on
Cuba’s strategy for tourism education,
notably its determination to
‘‘professionalize’’ its industry, given the
rapidly growing number of tourism arrivals.
In the second of two articles dealing with
educational issues, Michelle McDonald and
Royston O. Hopkin consider the challenges
facing Grenada and the need to modernize
and expand the training and educational
support for tourism development.
In a study of three Caribbean destinations,
Anne P. Crick analyzes the provisions made
for the internal marketing of tourism to host
populations. The Caribbean is generally
known for the warmth and friendliness of its
people and yet attitudes to tourists vary
between locations and more could and should
be done to promote the benefits of tourism to
local Caribbean communities. John J. Issa,
chairman of Super Clubs and pioneer of the
‘‘all-inclusive’’ Caribbean resort concept,
writing with Chandana Jayawardena,
2000 2112
20.3 33
14.5 27
34.8 60
252,000 342,000
reviews its past, present and future
significance. They conclude that all-inclusive
resort holidays will continue to play a
significant role in tourism development.
In the first of three ‘‘Research in brief’’
articles, Eritha Huntley and Carol
Barnes-Reid examine the growing tension
between religion and work scheduling, with
reference to Jamaica’s hospitality industry.
Chandana Jayawardena and Diaram
Ramajeesingh review the performance of
Caribbean tourism from an economic
perspective and among other findings, reveal
that Aruba strongly outperforms the more
mature tourism destination of Jamaica. To
conclude this section, Hilton McDavid and
Diaram Ramajeesingh consider the balance
between government and industry leadership
of tourism policy and present the case for
stronger industry representation.
This issue contains four ‘‘Viewpoints’’ and
the first, from Nikolaos Karagiannis,
considers ways in which the linkages with
tourism might be strengthened with the aim
of assisting Jamaica’s economic
development. Anthony Clayton focuses on
sustainable tourism in the Caribbean and the
improvements needed in tourism policy
planning and implementation to maintain
this focus. Godfrey A. Pratt considers the
impact of terrorism on two Caribbean
destinations and the on-going work needed to
persuade tourists to travel and, finally,
Chandana Jayawardena and K. Michael
Haywood profile the skills needed to
successfully manage international hotels in
the Caribbean.
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this
thought-provoking collection of articles from
the Caribbean.
Chandana Jayawardena
Guest Editor
References
CARICOM/CTO (2002), Report on Caribbean
Tourism Strategic Plan, Caribbean Tourism
Organisation, Barbados, pp. 4, 34.
CTO (2002), Caribbean Tourism Statistical Report
2000-2001, Caribbean Tourism Organisation,
Barbados, pp. iv, v.
Jayawardena, C. (2002), ‘‘Future challenges for
tourism in the Caribbean’’, Social and
Economic Studies, Vol. 51 No. l, pp. 1-23.
[ 139 ]
Developing indigenous tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
Keywords
Tourism, Comparative costs,
Cultural synergy, Innovation,
Guyana, Suriname
Abstract
As emergent tourism destinations,
the Guianas are new players in a
game in which rules have been
agreed, strategies defined and
competition has been intense.
New players succeed by
demonstrating creativity and
innovation and by seizing
comparative advantage. The
possession of unique natural
attractions, the presence of
indigenous communities or rare
cultural forms are all precious
resources commanding
comparative advantage for the
Guianas. However, because of the
special character of indigenous
tourism, development of that form
of tourism is not possible without
the articulation and
implementation of appropriate
policy measures. In the absence of
that policy infrastructure the
possibilities for error and conflict
are immense. This paper explores
the key challenges in the path of
the development of indigenous
tourism and suggests clear policy
guidelines that should inform the
development of indigenous
tourism in the pursuit of
comparative advantage.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470158]
[ 140 ]
Donald Sinclair
Division of Caribbean and Tourism Studies, University of Guyana, Queenstown,
Georgetown, Guyana
Introduction
The Guianas comprise three territories
– Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
– on the north-eastern shoulder of the South
American continent. Although much
similarity in demographics, topography and
economic condition exists among these three
territories, the paper will focus primarily on
the development of indigenous tourism in
two of the Guianas, which are part of the
Caricom (Caribbean Community and
Common Market) grouping – Guyana and
Suriname. French Guiana is still an overseas
department of France and does not, at the
moment, envision a Caribbean destiny.
In view of the political reality of the
Caricom status of Guyana and Suriname,
there are distinct merits in the discussion of
tourism development methodologies for
Guyana and Suriname within a Caricom
framework, especially with technical
assistance from the Caribbean Tourism
Organisation (CTO). The other imperative
which justifies (or certainly makes urgent) a
bi-lateral initiative on tourism development
for Guyana and Suriname is the growing
need to define fruitful and constructive areas
of cooperation to counterbalance and defuse
tensions issuing from unresolved territorial
questions between the two countries.
Cooperation in areas such as tourism
development and sustainable uses of the
environment will do much to strengthen
goodwill and enhance the sense of shared
destiny between both populations.
The appropriate tourism
Guyana and Suriname are both former
European colonies on the continent of South
America. Both countries possess vast,
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
sparsely inhabited interiors that are rich in
natural resources, and both are seeking
alternatives to the, now declining, extractive
industries that dominated their economies
for many decades. Both regard tourism as
bearing the potential to introduce handsome
economic rewards and both Guyana and
Suriname recognize the resources of their
interiors – the diversity of flora, fauna and
ancient indigenous cultures – as the base of
that development.
Although the form of tourism commonly
known as eco-tourism features as a priority
in tourism development in both Guyana and
Suriname, the main focus of this paper will
be on what may be regarded as a sub-set of
eco-tourism – indigenous tourism. The flora
and fauna, rapids, waterfalls, which both
countries possess, are promoted as the
context for a unique experience of nature.
Regardless of the intense debates in tourism
circles in both countries regarding the
suitability or appropriateness of the ‘‘eco’’
label, there is consensus on what should
comprise the essence of that unique
experience of nature that is the sought-after
prize of much modern travel.
Indigenous tourism forms part of that now
copiously referenced cluster of tourism
alternatives (Smith and Eadington, 1992).
Hinch and Butler (1996) define indigenous
tourism as:
. . . tourism activity in which indigenous
people are directly involved either through
control and/or by having their culture serve
as the essence of the attraction.
Smith (1996) perceives indigenous tourism
as:
. . . that segment of the visitor industry which
directly involves native peoples whose
ethnicity is a tourist attraction.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
Smith’s definition immediately introduces a
complexity, one that has to be squarely and
comprehensively addressed by those
emergent tourism destinations anxious to
maximize earnings from the development of
indigenous tourism. Essentially, that
complexity revolves around the
operationalisation of ethnicity as a tourist
attraction without inducing behaviours and
postures that are demeaning on the part of
tourists.
Forte (1993) is very sensitive to this
possibility in her assertion that Amerindian
peoples in Guyana should not be the tourism
attraction per se, but that visits should offer
tourists an understanding and appreciation
of the lifestyles of the Amerindians. The
attraction in that sense would not be
Amerindians but ‘‘Amerindian-ness’’.
Therein lies one of the key challenges for
indigenous tourism in the Guianas – to
structure the indigenous tourism experience
in such a manner as to guarantee the greatest
integrity to the indigenous people and their
lifestyles, even as the demands of the tourists
are being satisfied.
The last two decades of the twentieth
century have witnessed a very sharp focus on
the interests and rights of indigenous
peoples. 1982 saw the constitution of the
Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. In
1992, 500 years after Columbus was
discovered by indigenous peoples, a chorus of
voices gave expression to the modern plight
of indigenous peoples. In 1993, designated as
the United Nations International Year of
Indigenous Peoples, the Declaration of
Indigenous Peoples Rights was drafted.
This ferment of deliberation and even
protest, centring on indigenous peoples, now
constitutes a formidable moral and
ideological backdrop against which any
national enterprise that is based on
indigenous peoples, their lands, cultures,
traditions and lifestyles will be judged. In
this first decade of the twenty-first century
there now exist not only indigenous
populations and advocates that are more
informed and militant, but also more
protocols, checks and safeguards governing
activity that impinges on the lives of
indigenous peoples.
It is in this supra-national context that the
development of indigenous tourism in
Guyana and Suriname will be occurring.
There are almost generic complexities and
challenges that attend this development. In
that circumstance, policies and protocols
that enjoy the commitment of all
stakeholders will be vital instruments in
guaranteeing development of a form of
tourism that will enhance the welfare of
indigenous peoples in Guyana and Suriname.
Comparative advantage
For emergent tourism destinations,
especially in the Caribbean, sun, sand and
sea tourism would hardly be a major source
of comparative advantage. The more mature
destinations in the Caribbean – the Bahamas,
Jamaica, Antigua and Barbados – have long
since refined that form of tourism and are
even now challenged to retain market share
(Holder, 1996). The reality of this market
challenge has impelled traditional
sun-sand-sea destinations in the Caribbean to
consider and propose alternative resources
and experiences to drive product
differentiation.
The growth of the now copiously
referenced ‘‘alternative tourism’’ market has
been characterised by a desire on the part of
travellers to enjoy experiences that are more
rounded than has been the traditional reward
of mass tourism. A growing segment of the
tourism market has shown an interest in
going beyond (sometimes well beyond) the
beach; in pursuing attractions and
experiences that are available only in the
deep interior recesses of distant lands. Those
countries that possess rare and abundant
biodiversity and can point to remote or
indigenous communities practising cultural
forms that are different from the dominant,
Westernised traditions are in a position to
exploit comparative advantage in the
tourism market.
Strong economic stimulus exists in
Guyana and Suriname for the exploitation of
comparative advantage in tourism. Both
countries have been experiencing declines in
foreign exchange earnings deriving from
traditional export commodities. In Guyana,
reduced earnings from sugar, rice and
bauxite have contributed to a precarious
balance of payments situation. In Suriname,
a similar scenario exists where declines in
earnings have led to an unfavourable balance
of payment equation, which has in turn led to
the precipitous depreciation in the value of
the local currency – the Suriname guilder
– against most major currencies.
The fact that both Guyana and Suriname
postponed the embrace of tourism for a
number of decades can possibly be explained
in two ways. First, both countries possessed a
significant stock of natural resources that
could be exploited for economic development.
Guyana embarked on export-led development
with sugar, rice, bauxite, timber and
minerals as the leading lights. For Suriname,
[ 141 ]
Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
[ 142 ]
bauxite, gold and timber were the flagship
industries. Second, during more than four
decades of the dominance of traditional blue
waters Caribbean tourism both Guyana and
Suriname found themselves, for reasons
geographic, outside (or farther south of) this
blue waters sorority. The days of black
waters tourism would come later, when
tourism itself would move beyond the beach.
The product – Suriname
What do Guyana and Suriname possess that
would be a key attraction to a growing
segment of the tourism market and would
serve as the basis of comparative advantage?
The focus of this paper will be on those
communities and cultural resources that are
being described as indigenous and that will
be cited as the resource for the development
of indigenous tourism.
Bush Negroes (or Maroons as referred to
by some sources) comprise 10 per cent of the
population of Suriname; Amerindians 3 per
cent. The lifestyles and cultural forms of both
peoples reflect, in varying degrees, their
strong ancestral base and corresponding
distance from and resistance to European
cultural influences. Although many
Surinamese of either Bush Negro or
Amerindian origin speak fluent Dutch – the
official language – as well as Sranantong – the
most widely used vernacular – the majority
speak their traditional ancestral language
and live in traditional communities. These
communities are usually in remote districts
and boast a complex form of social
organisation. The relative remoteness of
these communities reflects the historical
imperative to be independent of the reaches
of the plantation system.
Apart from language, the cultural
distinctness of these communities is
manifested in a number of other visible ways.
Dwelling in the communities is along
communal lines. In the Bush Negro
community of Santigron, for example,
thatched roof huts belonging to several
families are clustered together. Endogamy is
practised and is the traditional expectation.
Deviations from that norm do occur but are
frowned on, and considerable communal
pressure is visited on the deviants.
Religion is central to life in both
Amerindian and Bush Negro villages.
Visitors are often shown a public space,
regarded by the community with great
reverence because of its association with
ritual activity. Not all Bush Negro rituals are
accessible to tourists. Some are exclusive to
the practitioners themselves and often entail
communion with ancestors of the villagers.
Burial spaces, for example, are off-limits to
visitors to the Bush Negro village. The role of
the village chief, as chief officiant in these
rituals, is pivotal. The Chief (or Deputy Chief
if the latter is absent) is the resident
authority who settles disputes in the village,
advises on matters pertaining to the welfare
of the village, and sanctions or refuses visits
and tours to the community.
Indigenous tourism in Suriname therefore
involves visits and tours to the Bush Negro
and Amerindian communities. Bush Negro
communities tend to receive more visits than
Amerindian villages. That fact is by no
means a judgement upon the appeal or
authenticity of Amerindian cultural
practices; it is simply a statement of the more
advanced development and organised nature
of Bush Negro tourism in Suriname. Arinze
tours, Kumalu Island Adventure and Mena
Reizen are the foremost Bush Negro-managed
tour operations in Suriname.
The product – Guyana
Guyana has no Bush Negro population, but
its indigenous or Amerindian population
comprises 7 per cent of the population and is
the third largest racial grouping. Writers
often draw attention to the difficult history of
Amerindians in Guyana. Fox and Danns
(1993) assert:
Amerindians in Guyana have historically
existed under conditions of continuous
threat.
Amerindians have also been described as
being:
. . . the poorest and most neglected stratum of
Guyanese society (Forte, 1995).
Rendall (1995) comments on their having:
. . . suffered a long history of marginalisation,
both before and since independence.
The majority of Amerindians live a
traditional lifestyle in coastal or remote
interior districts, but (as in the case of the
Bush Negroes of Suriname) numbers of
Amerindian residents live and work in
coastal and urban areas, practising lifestyles
that are no different from those of the
urbanised Guyanese of any other race.
Traditional life for Amerindians in the
interior:
. . . is a very laborious one, due to their
subsistence on the slash and burn (shifting)
cultivation of traditional crops, most
importantly, bitter cassava (manioc), corn,
yams, peanuts and sweet cassava,
supplemented by wild fruits when in season.
Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
Hunting and fishing are still practised to
varying degrees with bows, firearms, fish
poisons and nets (Rendall, 1995).
Today, a more complex economy has placed
at the disposal of the Amerindian a wider
variety of pursuits and means of earning a
livelihood. Timber, balata and gold
production have lured many (especially
male) Amerindians into those economic
activities, thereby creating a more complex
picture of the Amerindian condition than the
traditional perspective suggests.
In summary, there exists in both Guyana
and Suriname communities of indigenous
peoples who practise lifestyles that are
strongly traditional and in many cases
bearing strong allegiance to ancestral
traditions. The lifestyles, cultural forms and
practices of these peoples have stimulated the
curiosity of visitors and tourism now
integral to the lives and economic well-being
of these communities.
In an article appearing in Time magazine
Foroohar (2002), discussing this new vogue in
travel, writes:
A new kind of travel is in vogue now. Savvier
tourists are abandoning the mock-European
high-rises for more authentic experiences,
like horseback riding through the bush
(Foroohar, 2002).
The author continues:
In many ways, this off-the-beaten path
vacation represents the future of global
tourism – an industry on the verge of
tremendous growth and change (Foroohar,
2002).
The operation of tourism in these
communities presents a number of very
urgent challenges that require responses at
the level of policy intervention and regulation
if tourism is to succeed in a sustainable way,
safeguarding and enhancing the interests and
welfare of the visited, indigenous
communities. These challenges need first to
be understood, then faced and addressed
squarely, with the appropriate principles and
guidelines informing policy formulation and
implementation.
Challenges
The discussion of the challenges facing
indigenous tourism in some ways revisits an
earlier proposition advanced by Smith (1996).
Consciously departing from the ‘‘four S’’
(sun/sand/sea/sex) structure of mass
tourism that is pervasive in tourism
literature, Smith offers a ‘‘four H’’ structure.
Smith (1996) asserts:
The tourism literature has adopted the four S
acronym to describe beach resort tourism, a
lifestyle often associated with charter mass
tourism, tropical cruises, and ‘‘drifter’’
tourism. The four Hs – habitat, heritage,
history and handicrafts – similarly describe
the indigenous tourism phenomenon, as a
culture-bounded visitor experience which,
quite literally, is a micro-study of man-land
relationships.
Smith’s (1996) perception of the indigenous
tourism phenomenon as ‘‘culture-bounded’’ is
accurate, and her identification of heritage,
history, habitat and handicraft lends support
(albeit with some overlap) to that perception.
However, Smith’s perspective on ‘‘history’’ as
referring ‘‘specifically to post-contact
relations between Aboriginal peoples and
Westerners who later occupied the lands and
established the present governments’’
(Smith, 1996) abbreviates the sweep of
indigenous history and limits its expression
in tourism. Conceiving of, and presenting,
indigenous history as ‘‘post-contact’’ history
locates indigenous tourism within the
time-frame of post-contact acculturation.
The first challenge for indigenous tourism
is therefore conceptual – defining its
temporal parameters. That definition will
determine not only the concept of indigenous
history and tourism, but also the
construction of the indigenous tourist stage
– what is selected for ‘‘consumption’’ and
what remains hidden and unacknowledged.
This challenge has strong implications for
cultural, particularly museum, policy. The
Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology in
Guyana, with artefacts dating way before
‘‘contact’’ history, is inspired by (and
presents to the visitor) a much more
inclusive view of indigenous history.
Refining the product
If Foroohar (2002) is right in asserting that
off-the-beaten-track tourism represents a new
trend in travel, then indigenous tourism in
the two Guianas is being developed at an
auspicious time. If growing numbers of
travellers are in fact seeking more authentic
experiences, then the marketing of this brand
of tourism – always a key challenge – will
have been favoured. The next imperative will
be to refine the product (understood simply
as the integration of accommodations,
attractions and services) and commence
effective marketing.
Visiting communities that reside in remote
or deep-interior regions requires a
commitment on the part of a tour
[ 143 ]
Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
[ 144 ]
establishment to compliance with the most
scrupulous and professional operational
standards. These apply across the spectrum
and include the following:
. Safe, reliable, efficient and appropriate
modes of transportation – the jet-boat may
roar its passengers swiftly through
narrow streams en route to the remote
community, but are there negative human
and environmental consequences created
by the huge swells of the jet-boat?
. The quality of tour-guiding services at the
disposal of the visitor.
. Standards in accommodation facilities
available for visitors.
. Professional interpretation and
presentation of indigenous cultural forms
and traditions through the judicious
employment of knowledge-bearing
materials and artefacts.
Product integrity
Great care needs to be exercised in the
refinement and presentation of the
indigenous tourism product. Product
refinement and presentation that introduce
styles and ‘‘modernisations’’ that are
inappropriate to and incongruous with an
authentic indigenous tourism experience run
the risk of inducing suspicion in the minds of
the visitors that they may have been duped.
Worse, such presentations may be an affront
to the dignity of the community itself. A
debate has begun, for example, about the
‘‘eco-tourism casinos’’ of the Philippines.
Also, the not uncommon practice in
Suriname where tour operators take into
indigenous communities boxed lunches
purchased in the city certainly limits
opportunity for the visitor to appreciate
indigenous cuisine.
On the other hand, product integrity is
maintained, for example, in the Bush Negro
community of Santigron in Northern
Suriname when visitors are put to sleep
communally in hammocks under one
thatched-roof hut, villager style. Satisfaction
of the quest for the authentic must be the
paramount imperative in the provision of an
experience of indigenous tourism. That
objective is sometimes more challenging
than it appears, and the process of adaptation
to tourism on the part of remote communities
is often a very complex undertaking that
sometimes results in the falsification of its
own cultural identity (Nunez, 1989) or the
dilution of local culture (Greenwood, 1989).
Alarms have also been sounded regarding
threats from a ‘‘tourist monoculture around
the world’’ (Pera and McLaren, 2002) as well
as from biopiracy that occurs under the cloak
of ecotourism where numerous:
. . . scientists, students, tourists and
researchers enter into forests to collect
information about local plants and eco-
systems, stealing bio-diversity and, in some
cases attempting to patent life and the
stealing of knowledge developed over
centuries (Pera and McLaren, 2002).
Marketing
Appropriate and effective marketing is a vital
ingredient in the enterprise of indigenous
tourism in Guyana and Suriname, if it is to be
economically viable and produce rewards for
local communities. This is one area for direct
policy intervention. The tendency has been
noted in both countries for remote,
indigenous communities to be visited as the
‘‘add-on’’ experience, while visitors are
already in the country. This practice may
derive from a number of factors, key among
those being the inadequacy of a marketing
policy that does not stress the tourism value
of that order of experience.
The marketing of indigenous tourism is a
matter of some delicacy and sensitivity. Over
a decade ago in Guyana, a prominent resort,
located in an Amerindian area, caused
considerable offence through the publication
of an advertisement inviting visitors to ‘‘see
the exotic Amerindians’’. The furore
generated prompted the company to
withdraw the offending newspaper
advertisement. An important challenge in
marketing indigenous tourism as well as in
the definition of the product is to avoid the
suspicion that people are being commodified,
or presented as inanimate curios. The
marketing of indigenous tourism in
Guyana is sometimes made more thorny
by the hypersensitivities of some
indigenous advocates who sense and
scream exploitation at the mere sighting of
any icon or representation of anything even
remotely associated with the Amerindian
way of life.
Policy intervention is therefore
appropriate and necessary. Policy confers
legitimacy on the development and
marketing of indigenous tourism, defines the
parameters within which such activity
should occur, sanctions the use of
Amerindian icons and motifs in promotion
and pronounces on the behaviours and
practices that would be appropriate for both
the entrepreneur and the visitor. Policy
intervention must be understood as the
responsibility not only of the public sector
Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
directorate (ministry or other agency
responsible for tourism administration), but
also of those private sector agencies and
corporate bodies that have direct
responsibility for the management of the
tourism operation.
Community involvement
The management of indigenous tourism on
the ground must be driven by the principle of
indigenous sovereignty over natural and
cultural resources that are the basis of the
tourism experience, and that principle
should under-gird all aspects of the tourism
operation. The community should be
involved in decisions concerning the
number, duration, frequency and schedules
of visits, locations to be visited, the payment
of visitor fees, the location of visitor
accommodations. Meaningful indigenous
involvement in every stage of the tourism
enterprise ensures the greater possibility
that the tourism enterprise would be on the
community’s terms and developed at a pace
and character endorsed by the villagers.
The seminal importance of this
prescription was made painfully clear to
some tourism consultants in Guyana, in 2001,
when they played a conciliatory role in what
was shaping up to be an ugly encounter
between residents of the Amerindian village
of Whyaka and the management of a nearby
resort. A complete breakdown in the
community/resort relationship had
occurred, leading to a considerable degree of
mutual antagonism and distrust.
Tourism enterprises not based on this
model of indigenous sovereignty can lay the
foundation for visitor behaviours that are
unacceptable and inappropriate, or for
tourism enterprises that may be perceived as
exploitative, even ‘‘imperialistic’’ (Nash,
1989).
Conclusion
Indigenous tourism, once recognised as a
basis for comparative advantage in Guyana
and Suriname, will require development that
is sensitive and enlightened if unfortunate
experiences are to be avoided. Piore (2002)
reports that the rush to develop alternative
forms of indigenous tourism sometimes
results in dislocation of indigenous peoples.
Unless there are clear policy prescriptions
that recognise, respect and safeguard
indigenous sovereignty over the resource
that is the basis of indigenous tourism, an
important infrastructure will be missing.
Indigenous sovereignty must take
precedence over any other imperative that
drives indigenous tourism operations.
If indigenous tourism development is
propelled by the logic of the market to the
exclusion of other holistic considerations,
conflict scenarios will result, similar to the
one that threatened to disturb the peace in
the village of Whyaka in Guyana.
Indigenous sovereignty must take
precedence over any other imperative that
drives the development of indigenous
tourism. In the absence of policy
prescriptions that ensure at least the
greatest possibility for such sovereignty, an
important infrastructure will be missing.
Ultimately, tourism will have contributed,
unwittingly and inadvertently, to the
perpetuation of the historical theme of
indigenous exploitation. A simple road map
for Guyana and Suriname to move forward
could be the following:
. Joint Declaration by Guyana and
Suriname of the importance assigned to
the development of indigenous tourism
and of their commitment to cooperation
especially in the area of marketing.
. Convening of a stakeholder consultation
in order to generate consensus on
precepts, operational guidelines and
protocols.
. Design of or amendment to appropriate
policy document or drafting of
appropriate regulations to govern the
management of indigenous tourism
enterprises.
. Strict enforcement of protocols
(through licensing and sanction
arrangements) governing forms of
indigenous tourism.
References
Foroohar, R. (2002), ‘‘Getting off the beaten track’’,
Time, 22-29 July, pp. 34-8.
Forte, J. (1993), Amerindians and Tourism in
Guyana, ARU, University of Guyana,
Georgetown.
Forte, J. (1995), Amerindians and Poverty in
Guyana, background paper, ARU, University
of Guyana, Georgetown.
Fox, D. and Danns, G. (1993), The Indigenous
Condition in Guyana: A Field Report on the
Amerindians of Mabura, ARU, University of
Guyana, Georgetown.
Greenwood, D. (1989), ‘‘Culture by the pound: an
anthropological perspective on tourism as
cultural commoditisation’’, in Smith, V. (Ed.),
Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of
Tourism, 2nd ed., University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA.
[ 145 ]
Donald Sinclair
Developing indigenous
tourism: challenges for the
Guianas
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 140-146
[ 146 ]
Hinch, T. and Butler, R. (1996), ‘‘Indigenous
tourism: a common ground for discussion’’, in
Hinch, T. and Butler, R. (Eds), Tourism and
Indigenous Peoples, International Thomson
Business Press, London.
Holder, J. (1996), ‘‘Maintaining competitiveness in
a new world order: regional solutions to
Caribbean tourism sustainability problems’’,
in Harrison, L. and Husbands, W. (Eds),
Practicing Responsible Tourism, Wiley, New
York, NY.
Nash, D. (1989), ‘‘Tourism as a form of
imperialism’’ in Smith, V. (Ed.), Hosts and
Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism, 2nd ed.,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA.
Nunez, T. (1989), ‘‘Touristic studies in
anthropological perspective’’, in Smith, V.
(Ed.), Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of
Tourism, 2nd ed., University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA.
Pera, L. and McLaren, D. (2002), Globalization,
Tourism and Indigenous Peoples: What You
Should Know about the World’s Largest
Industry, available at: www.planeta.com/
ecotravel/resources/rtp/globalization.html
Piore, A. (2002), ‘‘Trouble in Paradise’’, Time, 22-29
July, pp. 42-4.
Rendall, C. (1995), ‘‘Tourism and indigenous
participation in Guyana’’, unpublished MA
dissertation, Roehampton Institute, London.
Smith, V. (Ed.) (1996), Hosts and Guests: The
Anthropology of Tourism, 2nd ed., University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Smith, V. and Eadington W.R. (1992), Tourism
Alternatives, Wiley, Chichester.
Towards an alternative tourism for Belize

Ian Boxill
Department of Sociology, The University of the West Indies, Mona,
Kingston, Jamaica

Keywords established destinations, the dramatic

Development, Tourism, Culture, Tourism in the Caribbean and increase in tourist arrivals for a country that
Location, Education, Belize Belize has recently started to market itself as a low
Abstract There is enough evidence to indicate that density/nature-based tourism destination
This paper argues that tourism tourism is the world’s largest industry and has resulted in some important social
development in Belize should that it makes a significant contribution to the impacts. These impacts are visible in larger
avoid going the traditional mass
GDP of Caribbean countries (Jayawardena, resort areas, such as San Pedro, and to a
tourism route of most Caribbean
2002). Tourism is growing in its importance
destinations. Instead, it suggests lesser extent, in the smaller communities
to the Caribbean and Central American
that Belize is at the appropriate such as Hopkins and Dangriga (Boxill and
nation of Belize. For the Caribbean, tourism’s
stage in its development to forge
Castillo, 2002).
an alternative model, which draws
contribution ranges between 5 per cent and
and builds on its geographical There is much that can be learned about
80 per cent. Estimates for Belize are about 20 how not to develop tourism from the
location, history, culture and
per cent of GDP (Belize Travel and Tourism
ecology. In making this case, the examples of countries throughout the
paper identifies a number of Statistics, 2001).
Caribbean. From Cancun to Jamaica to
While stay-over arrivals to Belize are not
limiting and facilitating factors to
tourism development. These Barbados, there are studies that show the
as high as destinations such as Cancun, the
facilitating factors recommend the social and environmental impacts of
alternative model. Specifically,Dominican Republic, Barbados, Puerto Rico,
unmonitored mass tourism on the ecology
the alternative model includes The Bahamas and Jamaica, Belize compares
nature, education and community favourably with countries such as Antigua and the lives of the people (Patullo, 1996;
tourism; and a type of cruise and the Cayman islands. However, Belize has Maerk and Boxill, 2000; Periera et al., 2002).
tourism that is linked to education
one of the lowest cruise ship arrivals in the Therefore, Belize should be careful about
and culture. For this effort to the way in which it develops its tourism
succeed, the paper recommends entire region (Belize Travel and Tourism
Statistics, 2001); although this year’s (2002)
that government and civil society industry. It should eschew the sudden
work together to develop the arrivals have increased dramatically. Belize embrace of the traditional sea, sand and mass
country’s human resources and to
is still a moderate to low density destination, cruise ship model that most countries of the
structure a strategy to achieve the
even though revenues earned from the Caribbean are pursuing. Belize should place
goals.
industry are relatively high (see Table I). greater emphasis on the quality of the visitor
Still there has been growth in the industry. rather than the quantity. It should also bring
Tourism has grown in its importance to the more stakeholders into the process,
This paper was originally a Belize economy over the last ten years. including the communities and educational
keynote address delivered
at a national symposium on Between 1987 and 1999 stay-over tourist institutions. In other words, Belize should
tourism by the University of arrivals to Belize grew by more than 200 per adopt an alternative path to that pursued by
Belize (UB) and the Ministry cent, from 99,300 to 326,600 (Caribbean the majority of the major Caribbean
of Tourism in Belize City, 15 Tourism Statistical Report 1999-2000). destinations.
November 2002. During the past five years, arrivals by
cruise ships have grown significantly. Three
years of remarkable growth ended with a 17.2 Alternatives for Belize
per cent decrease in 2001 (Belize Travel and
Tourism Statistics, 2001). However, it should Now, obviously, there are both limiting and
be noted that this year (2002) has seen a facilitating factors to any type of
significant recovery from previous years – development. These variables are not
over 300 per cent increase over last year. necessarily inherent, but are contingent on a
International Journal of broad philosophical orientation of
Contemporary Hospitality Even though the arrival numbers are
Management relatively small compared with the more development.
15/3 [2003] 147-150
# MCB UP Limited The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470167] http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm

[ 147 ]
Ian Boxill Table I
Towards an alternative Key socio-cultural and socio-economic indicators for Barbados, The Bahamas and Jamaica and
tourism for Belize
Belize (1999)
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Indicator
Management
15/3 [2003] 147-150 Tourist arrivals per thousand of the population
Rooms per thousand population
Visitor expenditure per capita (US dollars)
Tourism penetration ratio
Visitor expenditure as a percentage of GDP
Note: aestimated
Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization Statistical Report 1999-2000 (2000)
Tourism development is simply one
dimension of a set of development policies
that may be pursued by a country. Belize
would be better off with a development
process, or a tourism development policy,
which respects people’s ways of life, engages
them in a way that is psychologically,
intellectually and economically beneficial;
and sustains ecological systems without
which we cannot hope to survive for very
long. Of course, this type of tourism should
ideally help to bring about economic
transformation and must be sustainable.
Given its stage of development and its assets,
Belize is the one country in the Caribbean
region that is best suited to undertake this
type of tourism development. What are the
reasons for this? In other words, what are the
facilitating factors? They are as follows:
. Belize is a low density tourism
destination. Both the land to visitor
density and the tourism penetration ratios
are relatively low.
. Belize is a country with an abundance of
natural beauty, and has an ecological
system that is the envy of most of the
Caribbean.
. Belize is located strategically in Central
America but is also washed by the
Caribbean Sea and therefore enjoys the
best of both worlds. Proximity to the USA
may also be seen as an advantage.
. Belize has a diverse culture which
incorporates the major cultures of the
Americas: indigenous (Maya, Garifuna),
African/Creole, European (Spanish and
English), Hispanic and Asian.
Nonetheless, one must be mindful of some
limiting factors. These include:
. Competition from other destinations in
the region in the mass market; especially
now from the rise of Cuban tourism,
which is the fastest growing in the region.
. Social and cultural conflicts, which are
likely to arise from significant growths in
arrivals – particularly as it relates to mass
tourism.
[ 148 ]
Barbados The Bahamas Jamaica Belize
1,936 5,205 484 1,344
21 49 (1998) 9 16
2,490 5,224 496 459
54 77 14 25a
32.20 32.87 (1998) 21.40 16.19
. The relative softening of traditional
destinations of the USA and Europe, due
to rising local crime and the threat of
global terrorism.
. Potential environmental problems
associated with all types of tourism,
especially mass and cruise tourism. Many
of these impacts have been detailed in the
studies of the Anglophone Caribbean and
Cancun.
. The present and potential problem of
airlift due to the financial difficulties
associated with airline industry.
Belize should continue on a path of low to
moderate density tourism, with some minor
elements of sea and sand/mass variety where
possible. The country should adopt a well
planned, highly regulated tourism with a
strong focus on developing the cultural and
ecological gifts of the country. Belize should
try to differentiate itself from the pack by
focusing on high end tourism and by being
more adventurous and courageous. Thinking
out of the box is what we need at this
moment. But, what are some of the elements
of this alternative?
Elements of the alternative
Education and cultural tourism
With the imminence of the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA), there is a great deal
of potential for training in languages and
cultures across the region. As a member of
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),
Belize should develop institutions to train
English speakers in Spanish and, Spanish
speakers in English. The University of Belize
(UB), along with the University of the West
Indies (UWI) could spearhead an initiative
aimed at the development of institutions to
train people in languages, both short-term
and long-term. These should be well run, well
marketed and well organized bodies which
will attract some of the brightest and the best
minds in the country.
Ian Boxill The Cubans have been developing an
Towards an alternative education tourism sector, with little
tourism for Belize competition from other Caribbean
International Journal of destinations (see Jayawardena, 2003,
Contemporary Hospitality
Management forthcoming). In the case of Belize it should
15/3 [2003] 147-150 be possible to link the established
educational institutions to those aimed at the
study of Creole languages in the Caribbean.
The target market should be Latin
Americans, Caribbean people and US and
European colleges and education
institutions. There are millions of Caribbean
people inside and outside of the Caribbean
who look for places to go on vacation, to
study and to explore every year. There is a
critical mass of Caribbean people with a
substantial amount of disposable income.
Relatedly, there is the possibility for the
development of a festival type tourism, which
draws on the culture of the country. The
Belize annual Garifuna festival on
19 November is an example of festival
tourism, but there are many others that can
draw on the history of all peoples in the
country. These festivals should be carefully
managed or they can backfire, leading to the
commercialization of sensitive aspects of
people’s cultures. There is the possibility to
link these festivals to the educational
institutions, thereby consolidating their
presence and preserving their authenticity.
The Mundo Maya project of Central
America is in this tradition, but it needs to
incorporate more aspects of the educational
type tourism, thus bringing in a different
segment of the tourism market.
Cruise tourism
In relation to cruise tourism, there are
questions about its long-term benefits to the
Caribbean as currently constituted. Cruise
tourism often results in a considerable
amount of environmental problems for the
income that is earned (Patullo, 1996; Periera
et al., 2002). Still it remains an option, that
may be pursued, but only if properly
managed. However, there is an alternative or
complement to the status quo of cruise
tourism.
This approach to tourism, which is based
on collaboration of regional countries rather
than competition among them, is well suited
for CARICOM, especially in light of the
FTAA. This new approach is based on a
paper presented by Ian Boxill to the
Caribbean Maritime Institute and the
University of the West Indies (UWI) in March
2002. The project, entitled the Caribbean
World (CW), is an attempt to build on the rich
cultural history of the region, using the sea
as a mode of transportation, to create a new
tourism industry in the region. More
specifically, the CW is an idea that draws on
the rich history and human resources of the
Caribbean region to integrate and further
enhance the development of the region by the
promotion of alternative education
opportunities, alternative tourism and
training. This can be accomplished by using
ships to sail around the region and calling at
ports according to the objectives of the
particular journey. The basic idea is to
develop a cruise ship experience that
involves people travelling throughout the
Caribbean and learning about the history
and culture of the Caribbean. These ships
should be owned and operated by
organizations in the region, in the interest of
the region. Four important aspects of our
history are critical here:
1 Amerindian settlement and history;
2 European colonization;
3 slavery; and
4 East Indian indentureship.
The specific objectives of this type of tourism
should include:
. the development of a destination for
regional and international tourists
similar to the ‘‘Mundo Maya’’ project in
Central America;
. to link the islands and landmasses of the
Caribbean through travel;
. to generate revenue for the good of the
countries;
. to provide an alternative educational
experience for regional and international
students; and
. to foster closer regional cooperation and
integration.
Here is another way of picturing this
proposal. Imagine sailing to the Caribbean in
a ship with the comforts of a medium-size
cruise liner, manned by staff and students of
the Caribbean Maritime Institute, beginning
in Belize taking in Maya ruins then on to
Jamaica, stopping at Port Royal, then to Haiti
for two days to see the Citadel and then in
St Kitts to tour one of the region’s greatest
military forts. On board are staff and
students of the hospitality programme of the
UWI and the UB, managing the cuisine and
provision of services that are second to none
offered in a five-star hotel. Or imagine being
on board a ship, with a group/class
comprising students from the UWI and other
institutions across the world. Students who
filter in and out of the large library on board;
students who would not only learn about the
Maroons of Jamaica or the Caribs of
Dominica, but also get a chance to interact
with them, and help in one of the many
excavations being run by the UWI’s
archaeological department. On the way, they
[ 149 ]
Ian Boxill will get a glimpse of the famous Bussa Statue
Towards an alternative in Barbados and learn about his slave
tourism for Belize rebellion.
International Journal of Later they will stop at one of the famous
Contemporary Hospitality
Management markets in St Vincent and take in a lecture
15/3 [2003] 147-150 on the history of the steel pan in Trinidad
and Tobago, as part of an assignment in
cultural studies.
This is an option that could be spearheaded
by Belize. Belize could use its knowledge and
infrastructure from the Mundo Maya project
and lead this process. This type of tourism is
consistent with the low density, eco/heritage
tourism which the country is well known for.
Community tourism
Then, of course, there is community tourism.
Here is where communities can gain greater
control and benefit from tourism by having
more cooperative ventures. The community
organizations need to play an integral role in
the development of properties and the
creation of regulations which protect the
communities from exploitation by foreign
investors. There is need for the training of
community members in management and
entrepreneurial skills. Government officials
need to provide incentives for locals to get
involved in the industry as owners of
properties rather than as suppliers of cheap
labour. Above all, there is the need for a
healthy respect for the way of life in
communities, in view of the changes that will
most certainly come with an expansion of
tourism. The only way this will happen is if
the community leaders take a proactive role
in the development of tourism in their
communities.
Conclusion
What is needed for this alternative to
succeed? To succeed, tourism planners in
Belize need vision, will and confidence.
Tourism is a serious business which requires
careful planning, evaluation and
administration. The model which I propose
means that governments would have to
invest seriously in education at all levels.
The UB and other educational institutions
[ 150 ]
should be at the centre of this type of tourism
development.
But, tourism should not be left up to
governments or investors; this is a mistake
that Caribbean societies are now realizing
(Hayle, 2000). Tourism cannot survive in an
environment of uncertainty, high crime, poor
management and local resentment. On the
other hand, people must be made to feel as
though they benefit from the industry (Hayle,
2000). Belize is at a stage of its development
where it can fashion a new tourism, and not
make the mistakes of the more mature
Caribbean destinations.
References
Belize Travel and Tourism Statistics (2001), The
Belize Tourist Board, Belize City.
Boxill, I. (2000), ‘‘Overcoming social problems in
the Jamaican tourism industry’’, in Maerk, J.
and Boxill, I. (Eds), Tourism in the Caribbean,
Plaza y Valdez, Mexico City.
Boxill, I. (2002), ‘‘Caribbean world’’, paper
prepared for the University of the West Indies
and The Caribbean Maritime Institute.
Boxill, I. and Castillo, P. (2002), ‘‘Socio-economic
impact of tourism in Dangriga and Hopkins,
Belize’’, in Periera, A., Boxill, I. and Maerk, J.
(Eds), Tourism, Development and Natural
Resources in the Caribbean, Plaza y Valdez,
Mexico City.
Caribbean Tourism Organization Statistical
Report 1999-2000 (2000), Caribbean Tourism
Organization, Barbados.
Hayle, C. (2000), ‘‘Community tourism in
Jamaica’’, in Maerk, J. and Boxill, I. (Eds),
Tourism in the Caribbean, Plaza y Valdez,
Mexico City.
Jayawardena, C. (2002), ‘‘Community
development and Caribbean tourism’’ in
Periera, A., Boxill, I. and Maerk, J. (Eds),
Tourism, Development and Natural Resources
in the Caribbean, Plaza y Valdez, Mexico City.
Jayawardena, C. (2003), ‘‘Cuba: crown princess of
Caribbean tourism’’, IDEAZ, Vol. 2 No. 1,
forthcoming.
Maerk, J. and Boxill, I. (Eds) (2000), Tourism in
the Caribbean, Plaza y Valdez, Mexico City.
Patullo, P. (1996), Last Resorts, Cassell, London.
Periera, A., Boxill, I. and Maerk, J. (Eds) (2002),
Tourism, Development and Natural Resources
in the Caribbean, Plaza y Valdez, Mexico City.
Cuba: hero of the Caribbean? A profile of its tourism
education strategy
Keywords
Cuba, Hospitality industry,
Tourism, Workforce, Education,
Vocational training
Abstract
Features a realistic perspective of
the current hospitality and tourism
paradigm in Cuba. Previews the
newly released hospitality and
tourism education strategy to be
rolled out in 2003. Provides an
evaluation of the tourism and
hospitality industry environment,
education environment, workforce
and change in policy. The authors
made three research trips to Cuba
in 1997, 2001 and 2002. A series
of elite interviews were conducted
in Cuba, Jamaica and the UK with
senior Cuban policymakers.
Current data and views from
Cuban partners and practitioners
are used to inform the discussion.
Cuba continues to be one of the
most mystical tourist destinations
in the world with a phenomenal
growth rate during recent years.
The new tourism education
strategy is a key for Cuba to once
again become the number one
destination in the Caribbean.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 151-155
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470176]
Pat Wood
International Hospitality Management, London Metropolitan University,
London, UK
Chandana Jayawardena
Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Introduction
During the last decade, Cuba has recorded
phenomenal growth in tourism receipts. By
the mid-1990s Cuba ranked sixth in the
Caribbean tourism league. At the eve of the
last century, Cuba graduated to fourth
position, surpassing the Bahamas and
Jamaica. The new wave of success in Cuban
tourism has been the result of a well-planned,
optimistic development strategy. The current
tourism environment is summed up in the
words of Ibrahim Ferradaz Garcia (2002),
Minister of Tourism for Cuba:
Cuba is an archipelago of great natural
attractions – including more than 300 natural
beaches and a very pleasant climate –
together with the people’s warm hospitality,
rich historic and cultural heritage.
The current situation of tourism in Cuba was
narrated at a recent conference in the USA
as:
The people are warm, the sand is like silk, the
food is spicy and the drink is sweet. The sun
always shines and the music never stops. The
doors are opening and the walls are coming
down (Jayawardena et al., 2002a).
Cuba integrates a breadth and depth of
heritage, educational and cultural
experiences with its unique selling point
(USP) – the element of mystique. Add to that
an extraordinary and rare eco environment,
a naturally hospitable well-educated people,
value for money, a safe destination and a
unique experience – Cuba has it all. It is a
multifunctional destination with a strong
identity. The hotel stock is not always
sophisticated and the destination makes no
pretence at offering a perfect paradigm. The
strength of its offer now demands to be
underpinned by the development of the
hospitality and tourism education strategy in
partnership with the management of the
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
workforce. There is no doubt that Cuba is a
unique and leading tourism case study for
the first decade of this century.
The industry environment
During recent years Cuba has achieved the
highest growth rates in tourism within the
Caribbean (see Figure 1).
All tourism-dependent Caribbean nations
anxiously watch the steady, rapid growth in
Cuban market share. It is commonly
understood that eventual lifting of the US
embargo on Cuba will be detrimental for
some top Caribbean tourist destinations.
Certain analysts take comfort by falsely
forecasting that a post-US embargo
tourism-boom in Cuba will be a fast fading
novelty. Based on the current trend, it is not
difficult to predict that by 2010, Cuba will be
elevated to the number one position in
Caribbean tourism, irrespective of changes
in the US Cuban policy (Jayawardena, 2003).
Currently, Cuba is the least US
market-dependent tourist destination in the
Caribbean. Based on the recent published
statistics (CTO, 2001), the approximate share
of the key feeder markets are:
Europe – 54 per cent;
Canada – 17 per cent;
Caribbean – 10 per cent;
South America – 7 per cent;
USA – 4 per cent; and
Other – 8 per cent.
Cuban tourism has evolved with strong links
to other industries including tobacco, sugar
and coffee. A conference in the fields of
medicine, science, environment, arts,
tourism and culture annually attracts a host
of internationally prestigious business,
academic and leisure visitors.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
[ 151 ]
Pat Wood and
Chandana Jayawardena
Cuba: hero of the Caribbean?
A profile of its tourism
education strategy
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 151-155
[ 152 ]
Figure 1
Arrivals from all countries to Cuba 1995-2001 (thousands)
Negatively, the critics often raise the issues
of the alliance between tourism and
prostitution, yet these are the familiar ugly
sisters of this ‘‘Cinderella’’ industry in most
tourist destinations.
The economy has been growing steadily
since 1995 at an average annual growth rate
of 4.8 per cent. Tourism is the economic
activity, which brings in the most income, 44
per cent of the total (Cuba Travel, 2002).
Cuba has 240 hotels with new bed stock
continually being released. In total, 22 per
cent are foreign management contracts.
Notable external investors/operators
include Sol Melia (Spain), SuperClubs
(Jamaica), Sandals (Jamaica), Accor
(France), IWI (Germany), Senador (Canada).
Cubanacan, the government agency,
represents a number of Cuban brands. There
is no external property ownership. The
foreign hotel groups operate with 50/50
management contracts and an approximate
60/40 financial loading.
The current bedroom stock can be analysed
as:
. 37,225 rooms;
. 69 per cent rooms at beaches;
. 26 per cent rooms in cities;
. 68 per cent rooms in four- and five-star
hotels; and
. 40 per cent four- and five-star hotels (Cuba
Travel, 2002).
A regeneration initiative under the banner of
Habaguanex hotels, a state-backed tourist
company, is behind most of the main
restorations in Old Havana, a UNESCO-listed
world heritage site. It has just opened one
chic art deco hotel and more will follow
shortly. The profits from these hotels are
expected to be used to continue work on
further restoration of old buildings into hotel
projects.
Education environment
Identifying and analysing current and future
needs, trends and challenges of the
hospitality industry of the respective country
is essential to ensure success (Jayawardena,
2001a). The vocational education and training
(VET), which has grown up around the
tourism and hospitality industry, is integral
to that success. The hospitality and tourism
VET is, arguably, inspired by key models:
. Switzerland using hotel schools;
. Britain with college-based programmes;
. Germany establishing the dual system;
and
. the USA with industry-inspired provision.
The commitment in developing the human
resources needed for Cuba’s tourism sector
has laid a strong foundation for the future
success of the sector. For example, Cuba’s 19
hospitality schools, with over 1,000
professors, issue some 20,000 certificates
annually. With the most educated population
within the Caribbean, Cuba is using that
significant strength to choose and train
employees for tourism.
Informal discussion undertaken with
Cubans suggests that, in many instances,
managers from other sectors, with excellent
academic qualifications and professional
experiences, are attracted to the tourism
sector, particularly the hotel industry, to
quickly attain much sought-after US dollars
and higher income than in other sectors.
Accordingly, Formatur, the national training
and education agency for the tourism and
Pat Wood and
Chandana Jayawardena
Cuba: hero of the Caribbean?
A profile of its tourism
education strategy
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 151-155
hospitality sector in Cuba, established a
one-year VET conversion programme for
managers from other professions.
The following extract from the Cuban
information service underlines the
sophisticated contribution education makes
to the Cuban economy and its human
resource:
Education in Cuba is free at all levels,
including the university. Illiteracy was wiped
out in Cuba in 1961, when a national literacy
campaign was waged. All of the provinces
have centres of specialized training,
polytechnic institutes, universities and other
centres of higher education. Education has
been revolutionized with the introduction of
audio-visual means (Cuba Travel, 2002).
Public, medical and educational services are
significant systems introduced by Castro’s
government over four decades ago. The
following figures reflect the importance
placed on education for a population of 11
million, a total of:
. 8,868 elementary schools;
. 1,837 junior and senior high schools;
. 49 universities (with 686,027 university
graduates between 1959 and 2001);
. 13 students per teacher;
. 8 per cent of the GDP is spent on
education;
. 96 per cent literacy rate among the
population 10 years old and over; and
. 98 per cent of all children between six and
14 years old attend school.
The workforce
In 2001, there were 838,000 tourism related
jobs with 18 per cent of the Cuban workforce
employed in tourism (WTTC, 2001). By the
end of 2001, the Cuban hotel industry
provided direct employment for 90,007
persons (63 per cent male and 37 per cent
female). Of hotel employees, 20 per cent have
university degrees in medicine, science,
teaching, etc. Over 75 per cent of the
hospitality and tourism workforce are
qualified to technician level and above
(Annuario Estadistico de Cuba, 2002).
However, the hospitality and tourism
workforce in Cuba still requires new training
initiatives to effectively handle the volume,
demands and expectations of international
travellers. The training associated with
productivity, quality and control
benchmarks belonging to the leading global
hotel systems have not been adequately
addressed to date. A lack of empowerment
and motivation is apparent among the hotel
workforce, in particular the housekeeping,
food and beverage areas.
The Cuban hotel industry management
teams consist of a mix of foreigners and
Cubans. International hotel corporations
operate with expatriate general managers
and heads of department, known locally as
‘‘assessors’’. Historically the hotel work
environment has been an attractive
alternative for the highly educated Cuban
population. This is mainly due to the equality
of pay structures maintained throughout the
country. As an example, recent research
indicated that a general doctor earns
approximately 350 Cuban pesos (US$20) per
month. A restaurant waiter on the other
hand also earns 350 pesos per month plus an
average US$17 in tips per day. Cuban general
managers receive, in the region of, 700 pesos
(US$40) per month. The expatriate hotel
general managers in Cuba earn in the region
of US$5,000-7,000 (Wood, 2002).
Vocational education and training
(VET) provision
In addition to Formatur providing VET to the
industry at technician level and postgraduate
conversion programmes, Cubanacan, the
state tourism agency, has its own technical
school. With the focus on the environment
being key to the region, the environmental
agency has developed a one-year eco tourism
specialist VET programme, which 330 tourist
guides have undertaken. The programme has
two sections, the first of which comprises two
parts: general VET and nature topics
including bio diversity, sustainability,
tourism loading, species and habitat. The
second section concentrates on the specific
work environment. In addition the
programme develops language knowledge.
The current programme has a cohort of 158
trainees (Alonso, 2002). Currently a new
programme to educate the tourist in
environmental awareness is under
development. To date there has been no
hospitality and tourism degree provision
even though there is evidence of tourism and
hospitality related research being
undertaken at colleges and universities.
In July 2002 the new tourism education
strategy for Cuba was released. It is designed
to address the issues of a rapid tourism
industry growth. It will establish four
university centres of hospitality and tourism
education throughout Cuba to provide, in the
first stage, undergraduate degree education.
The key aims are to address the management
competencies required to move the labour
force forward, within the indigenous
population, and to enable it to have a parallel
professional academic standing to that of
[ 153 ]
Pat Wood and
Chandana Jayawardena
Cuba: hero of the Caribbean?
A profile of its tourism
education strategy
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 151-155
[ 154 ]
other Cuban industries. The strategy will
serve to boost Cuba’s human resource
standing in a highly competitive global
tourism industry market. To further inform
the development of the strategy, in 2002, a
senior delegation of Cuban First Vice-
Ministers of Education and Tourism
undertook a study of hospitality and tourism
VET provision within a selection of
European centres of hospitality education.
Potential outcomes of the strategy are to:
. develop strong, competent core Cuban
leadership in key hotel management
positions;
. establish a dedicated human resource
structure and development strategy for
the industry;
. place the hospitality industry
qualifications, on a par with other
professional qualifications in Cuba;
. encourage robust international exchanges
of university students and faculty;
. promote partnership in joint research
between international universities to
enable shared views;
. build tourist education programmes with
tourist operators to manage the education
of tourists;
. harness the established eco tourism
education to the undergraduate provision;
. decrease the reliance on conversion
courses; and
. raise the status of the industry as a career
and profession of choice.
The Vice-Minister of Tourism (Commerce)
recently stated, at an international forum in
London, that:
Cuba has a recognition of the development
needs, education and human resource
development, planning and management
effort required to capitalise on the tourism
potential (Rodriguez de la Vega, 2002).
The new undergraduate degrees will be built
on that system whilst using the opportunity
to integrate appealing features from other
national models.
Change of policy
In April 2001, Formatur, in association with
the Pan-American Confederation of
Hospitality and Tourism Schools
(CONPEHT), organised a conference with the
theme ‘‘The role of the professor of the hotel
and tourism schools’’ in Havana. The keynote
address focused on recent initiatives in
tourism and hospitality education and
training in various Caribbean countries
(Jayawardena, 2001b). The questions after the
keynote address from hospitality educators
in Cuba reflected noteworthy keenness in
obtaining more information on case studies
and experiences in the English-speaking
Caribbean. The Cuban Ministry of Education
has studied the current and projected rates of
growth in the tourism industry while
appraising themselves of the hospitality and
tourism education systems of other
countries. The new master plan for
hospitality and tourism undergraduate
provision will be gradually integrated into
the existing system in partnership with the
interested parties and in discussion with
senior external educators.
Nevertheless, the change in hospitality and
tourism educational policy raises a number
of issues for discussion:
. Will doctors and schoolteachers continue
to retrain on conversion courses to
compete with school leavers undertaking
specialist undergraduate programmes?
. Will less of the population enter the
professions they were previously trained
and educated for in favour of tourism and
hospitality business degrees?
. Will the introduction of the hospitality
and tourism undergraduate programme
sit comfortably in the workplace with the
current well-educated, but non-specialist,
workforce?
. What role will the hotel companies play in
the phasing in of the strategy?
. After the development of the
undergraduate programme, should
masters and doctoral programmes be
developed?
. Operationally what will the model look
like? Will it incorporate languages, a
partial delivery in English, a training
restaurant and industry work experience
opportunities?
. How closely will the provision follow the
current Cuban university undergraduate
model?
. Is this an opportunity to establish further
strategic alliances?
A number of successful industry-led VET
models exist in the international hotel
business. Accor for example has its own hotel
school in France and operates in Cuba. Cross
fertilisation could be beneficial to all parties.
Conclusion
Cuba is enthusiastically and strategically
embracing the opportunities and challenges
that its tourism industry is facing. It has
managed to survive and sustain the tourism
industry within an increasingly isolated
political system over 44 years. During the last
ten years it has recorded phenomenal
tourism growth rates. Cuba has well
Pat Wood and
Chandana Jayawardena
Cuba: hero of the Caribbean?
A profile of its tourism
education strategy
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 151-155
established its position in the global tourism
arena as one of the most mystical tourism
products in the world.
In the words of the Tourism Minister for
Cuba:
Tourism is the economic activity in our
country which brings in the most income. We
are applying a policy of promoting tourism
with the introduction of new technologies,
greater efficiency and competitiveness. In
return, the development of tourism in Cuba
has contributed to the formation of and
advances in many other fields. We will
continue to further the sustainable
diversification of tourism. Tourism plays a
very important role in promoting friendship
and peace among the peoples. If another
million tourists visit us in the next five years,
they will return home with a clearer
understanding of our country and culture –
and of the Cuban people’s warm hospitality
and friendliness.
Will tourism education strategies be a lever
for change as the new tourism graduates
move into the industry for a professional
career rather than a job with inherent
benefits? Certainly the new developments
provide an opportunity, for Cuba, to devise a
model of global ‘‘best practice’’ in hospitality
and tourism education.
References
Alonso, G. (2002), ‘‘Eco tourism resources in
Cuba’’, Tourism in Cuba: An Update, Cuban
Ministry of Tourism Seminar, London,
November.
Annuario Estadistico de Cuba (2002), Oficina
Nacional de Estadisticas, Cuba.
CTO (2001), Caribbean Tourism Statistical Report
1999-2000, Caribbean Tourism Organisation,
Barbados.
Cuba Travel (2002), available at:
www.cubatravel.cu
Dirección Nacional de Inmigración y Extranjerı́a
(2002), Cuba.
Ferradaz, G.I. (2002), ‘‘Minister of Tourism, Cuba,
Interview’’, 2nd Iberian American Conference
of Ministers of Tourism, March, Hosteltur,
Ideas y Publicidad T, Spain.
Garcia, A.L. (2002), ‘‘Eco tourism resources in
Cuba’’, Tourism in Cuba: An Update, seminar
proceedings, Cuban Ministry of Tourism
Seminar, London, November.
Jayawardena, C. (2001a), ‘‘Creating hospitality
management educational programmes in
developing countries’’, International Journal
of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 259-66.
Jayawardena, C. (2001b), ‘‘Tourism and
hospitality education and training in the
Caribbean: an analysis of recent initiatives’’,
Paper presented as the Keynote Speaker at
the Role of the Professor of the Hotel and
Tourism School Conference organised by the
Pan-American Confederation of Hospitality
and Tourism Schools (CONPEHT), Cuba,
April.
Jayawardena, C. (2003), ‘‘Revolution to
revolution: why is tourism booming in
Cuba?’’, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 52-8.
Jayawardena, C. (2002b), ‘‘Cuba: crown princess
of Caribbean tourism?’’, Paper presented at
the 27th Annual Conference of the Caribbean
Studies Association, The Bahamas, May.
Jayawardena, C., Jones, A.N. and Boger, E.P.
(2002a), ‘‘Destination Cuba! Once and future
Caribbean king: implications for
African-American heritage tourism’’, Paper
presented at the 57th Annual Conference of the
Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional
Education (CHRIE), Florida, USA, August.
Rodriguez de la Vega, E. (2002), Tourism in Cuba:
An Update, Cuban Ministry of Tourism
Seminar, London, November.
Wood, P. (2002), ‘‘Relationship of culture with
tourist accommodation in the Caribbean’’,
Pilot Study, International Institute for
Culture, Tourism and Development (IICTD),
London Metropolitan University, London.
WTTC (2001), Destination Report on Cuba, World
Travel and Tourism Council, London.
[ 155 ]
The future of hospitality education in Grenada
Keywords
Grenada, Hospitality management,
Human resource development,
Tourism, Stakeholders, Curriculum
Abstract
The quality of hospitality
education is a topical issue. It is
being increasingly realised that
the education level of tourism
employees impacts on the quality
of a country’s tourism industry. As
the most tourism-oriented region
globally, the Caribbean is slowly
awakening to the realisation that,
unless its tourism employees are
highly educated and skilled, the
region will continue to account for
an insignificant percentage of
world tourism arrivals. In Grenada,
hospitality education courses are
limited, given the small tourism
plant and comparatively low visitor
arrivals. Research was undertaken
by one of the authors, to explore
the opinions of the
accommodation sector about
current education provisions and
the future direction that courses
should take. Integration of all
stakeholders in the
implementation of the broad
education policy outlined by the
government is crucial to improving
hospitality education in Grenada
to ensure a competitive tourism
industry.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 156-160
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470185]
[ 156 ]
Michelle L. McDonald
Student, Beeston, Nottingham, UK
Royston O. Hopkin
Spice Island Beach Resort, St George’s, Grenada
Introduction
The importance of human resources to the
tourism industry cannot be disregarded. The
labour intensiveness of the industry implies
that:
. . . the human factor is fundamental to
development of the tourism sector since it
constitutes the very essence of quality in
tourism supply (Amoah and Baum, 1997).
The Caribbean is the most tourism-oriented
region in the world (Hall et al., 2002).
Estimates indicate that in 2000, 3.1 million
persons were either directly or indirectly
employed in tourism in the Caribbean,
representing 13.5 per cent of total
employment (ILO, 2001). As hospitality
education is a vehicle for improving the
quality of employees in the industry, it is
difficult to comprehend the apparent lack of
emphasis on developing human resources for
the Caribbean tourism industry. This is
mostly exhibited through inadequate funding
of institutions (Ramdeen-Joseph, 2003) that
are responsible for educating students to a
level that is acceptable internationally and
for local industry stakeholders. With
Caribbean economies so highly dependent on
the economic benefits of tourism, attention
needs to be given to hospitality education.
However, unlike in wealthier nations where
more interest is likely to be shown in human
resource concerns (Baum, 1994) the
investment required for education in tourism
is more of a burden for developing countries
(Amoah and Baum, 1997).
In the Eastern Caribbean island of
Grenada, stakeholders in the accommodation
sector have levelled criticism at the main
post-compulsory institution providing
hospitality courses. According to the tourism
master plan compiled in 1997 by the
Organization of American States – an
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
influential western hemispheric grouping
with 35 member states from the Americas
and the Caribbean – the sector felt that the
college does not provide adequately skilled
graduates (OAS, 1997). With stay-over visitor
arrivals numbering 128,864 in 2002 (CTO,
2002), this tri-island state’s tourism industry
has the potential for growth. The government
declared that tourism should be a major part
of its economic development strategy (OAS,
1997). Given that thrust, the island must
examine its existing programmes and policy
for hospitality education, in order to ensure
that developmental aims and the needs of
industry stakeholder groups are being met.
It is against this background that the
research was carried out in 2002, and one of
the main objectives was to explore the
opinions of the accommodation sector in
Grenada about current and future tourism
education programmes, focusing on the
principal post-compulsory institution. The
research also sought to ascertain the
Grenada government’s education policy for
development of human resources for the
island’s tourism industry.
The tourism industry in Grenada
Tourism in Grenada is still untapped. From
the early journeys made by adventurous
travellers in the 1960s, through the period of
political instability in the 1970s and 1980s,
Grenada was slow to get on the tourism
bandwagon, as so many of the other islands
in the region did. Government officials say
that Grenada is not a mass tourist
destination. Indeed, with fewer than 2,000
rooms in the accommodation sector, as well
as lack of airlift, it is the very determined,
and those who know of the charm of the
island that make the effort to travel as far
south as they do. When they arrive, they find
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
Michelle L. McDonald and an unspoilt, picturesque, diverse destination.
Royston O. Hopkin Being relatively expensive due to its
The future of hospitality southerly location in the Windward Islands
education in Grenada
chain, holidays taken in Grenada can be
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality quite costly. This suggests that it is the
Management higher income traveller who can afford to
15/3 [2003] 156-160 come to Grenada, and therefore, expectations
are high.
The charm, hospitality and near-perfect
attitudes of the Grenadian workers can mask
skill and education deficiencies. With
Grenada competing for its share of a
shrinking market, as new tourist
destinations are developed, these deficiencies
have to be addressed since the quality of
tourism employees determine to a great
extent, the growth levels of visitor arrivals. A
solid, comprehensive education programme
is therefore vital to keep human resource
development in stride with future planned
growth of the tourism sector.
Current hospitality education
programmes
New Life Organisation (NEWLO) is a
vocational training centre for youth, with its
main aim being to provide quality vocational
and life skills for disadvantaged young
people. Courses last for six months and
include an internship period. The T.A.
Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) is
Grenada’s main post-compulsory institution,
where a Department of Hospitality Arts was
established in 1988. The two certificate
programmes offered are aimed at providing
multi-skilled personnel for the local
hospitality industry. These are:
. Food and beverage operations – duration of
one year, targeted at providing skilled
waiters/waitresses, basic cooks and tour
guides. The programme targets students
who did not gain entry to secondary
school, but have completed the primary
‘‘school leaving’’ examination. Average
class size is 15.
. Hotel and catering – duration is two years,
targeted at providing skilled employees to
any department in the hospitality
industry, except maintenance. It is aimed
at secondary school graduates with at
least two GCE ‘‘O’’ Level/Caribbean
Examination Council passes and average
class size is also 15.
Grenada does not have any hospitality
management degree programmes. The
St George’s University, a US off-shore
institution, has sought to develop a
hospitality management programme for
many years, however, this has not yet been
established. In January 2002 however, the
university offered a three-credit course
lasting 16 weeks entitled ‘‘Introduction to
Hospitality Management’’. There were also
plans to offer a ‘‘Travel and Tourism’’ course
in Autumn 2002. Those aspiring to
management positions must therefore pursue
their undergraduate degrees overseas.
In 1997, feedback from the accommodation
sector indicated that the hospitality
graduates of both TAMCC and NEWLO were
below the standards required for entry-level
personnel in the hospitality sector. The
graduates were described as being deficient
in both conceptual knowledge and practical
skills. The limited academic background of
these students was also described as a
constraint, in that it hindered their abilities
to progress to supervisory and managerial
levels (OAS, 1997). Five years on, this was the
same feedback received during the research
undertaken in 2002. Hoteliers indicated that
TAMCC graduates do not have any
advantages over other applicants when it
comes to employment and salary. In fact,
only 33 per cent of hoteliers interviewed seek
TAMCC graduates first when a vacancy
arises (McDonald, 2002). What direction,
therefore, must hospitality education take in
the future to ensure that graduates meet the
needs of employers in the industry?
Education policy
The Ministry of Education (2002) states that
one of the ‘‘significant shortcomings’’ of the
education system in Grenada is insufficient
links to national training needs and the
world of work. In the Strategic Plan for
Educational Enhancement and Development
2002-2010 (SPEED), the government
acknowledges that:
Education is the key to progress. It follows
that education is a principal contributor to
the development of human resources for
national economic and social improvement
(Ministry of Education, 2002).
SPEED has, as a core strategic objective, to
‘‘develop a coherent human resource
development (HRD) framework with special
focus on post-secondary career training’’. A
sub-strategic objective is to ‘‘develop a
comprehensive HRD policy’’ with a target
date of 2003 and ‘‘develop the capacity of
TAMCC to offer a wide range of training to
up to the post-graduate level’’. The priority
rating on this sub-objective is ‘‘high’’ and the
plan recognizes the need to provide training
of trainers and other support by 2006.
One of the activities to be undertaken is
‘‘provide adequate institutional capacity to
develop relevant curricula with stakeholder
[ 157 ]
Michelle L. McDonald and participation’’. An output of this activity will
Royston O. Hopkin be ‘‘revised curricula’’ and the means for
The future of hospitality monitoring this activity will be ‘‘employer
education in Grenada
surveys’’.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 156-160
Future direction of hospitality
education
The relevance of the curriculum of the
two-year course at TAMCC was questioned
by the accommodation sector during the
employer survey undertaken in 2002.
Grenada does not have many large hotels,
which usually have extensive resources for
training and development. Consequently, an
ineffective TAMCC programme presents a
challenge to small hotels. Improving
hospitality education in Grenada must,
therefore, commence with the TAMCC
programmes.
Before setting a course of action however,
it is necessary to identify the area of greatest
need. Figure 1 identifies the four levels of
employment that are generally considered to
exist in the tourism industry.
Jayawardena (2001) recommends that the
structure of any programme should take into
account medium term and current needs
first. Research findings indicated that the
accommodation sub-sector has most
difficulty filling positions at the craft/skilled
level. Grenada’s accommodation sector
comprises many locally owned family-run
units. The result is that there are less
managerial positions available. Also, the size
of the majority of the properties diminishes
the need for a large number of management
personnel. Although some respondents felt
that there is a skills gap in all levels, the
majority believe that improvements need to
be made to the current education
programmes for the craft/skilled level
(McDonald, 2002).
Figure 1
Levels of employment in the tourism industry
[ 158 ]
Hoteliers felt that they should be involved in
the design of curricula and 62 per cent of
respondents would make significant changes
to the two-year course to make it more
relevant. The majority felt that there should
be more tourism- and hospitality-specific
subjects on the curriculum, which should
include more practical than theory
(McDonald, 2002). Any curriculum review
will need to further explore these stakeholder
opinions.
St George’s University is keen to develop
its beachfront property into a hotel school. At
the time of writing, some preliminary
preparatory work had been undertaken in
this regard. The university would only be
interested in offering the third and fourth
years of a baccalaureate degree. Therefore,
collaboration with TAMCC would possibly
entail students undertaking a two-year
Associate Degree run by TAMCC, then
progressing to the degree programme, if so
desired. At the moment, the courses offered
by the Hospitality Arts department at
TAMCC are not accredited so they are not
recognized, neither locally nor
internationally. A draft paper for submission
to government by TAMCC states that no
significant attempts have been made by
governments in the past to have recognition
granted for its courses (TAMCC, 2002). This
campaign is in its infancy. Support will be
hinged on employers’ opinions of graduates
of the college. This is a ‘‘chicken and egg’’
situation since employers’ opinions may not
change unless the programmes are upgraded,
but the programmes may not be upgraded
unless employers commit to supporting them
by giving its graduates preference when
recruiting (McDonald, 2002).
With an upgrade of TAMCC’s courses, the
need for qualified educators will arise.
Development of the existing faculty must go
hand-in-hand with any curriculum changes
so that hospitality education ‘‘leads the
industry rather than follows it’’
(Jayawardena, 2001a). This development
must not only be in the area of knowledge
enhancement, but also in updating the
faculty in modern up-to-date techniques and
innovations which allow for a
student-centred approach to teaching and
learning. Faculty internships in high quality
hotels are also recommended.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s
(CTO) Caribbean Tourism Human Resource
Council (CTHRC) is playing an important
role in human resource development for the
regional tourism industry. Established in
1997, CTHRC has as its mission statement:
To develop and promote a systematic and
coordinated approach to human resources
Michelle L. McDonald and planning, research, education and training in
Royston O. Hopkin Caribbean tourism, to meet the demands of a
The future of hospitality globally competitive tourism environment
education in Grenada
(CTHRC, 2002a).
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality In a recent initiative, the CTHRC began
Management
15/3 [2003] 156-160 collaborating with the Education Reform
Unit (OERU) of the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS) on the Caribbean
Tourism Learning System (CTLS) project
(CTHRC, 2002b). This project is funded by the
Canadian government and is patterned after
a similar project in Canada. The main
objective of the project is to develop a core
curriculum for associate degrees, which will
be used in 15 institutions in the region and
TAMCC will be one of these. The college must
ensure that there is integration of efforts, and
work closely with CTHRC.
In order to produce highly skilled
graduates, TAMCC will need to attract the
brightest and the best and this will
necessitate changes to the admission
requirements. Currently, the image of the
industry is poor. ‘‘Pots and pan’’ and ‘‘last
resort’’ are some of the expressions used to
describe it. The society unfortunately sees
the industry as making its employees
subservient. It is recommended that
successful tourism entrepreneurs and
tourism employees be used as role models in
order to make young people gravitate
towards a career in tourism. Those who are
critical of it do not understand it, so the
perception of the Grenadian people will have
to be changed through effective public
awareness campaigns. The linkages that
tourism has with other sectors have to be
highlighted, and it is suggested that
awareness programmes be implemented
from the primary school level.
Conclusion
For the first quarter of 2002, after the
aftermath of 11 September, Grenada was one
of only five CTO member countries to
register an increase over a similar period in
2001 (CTO, 2002). This is significant as it
demonstrates the potential that Grenada has
as a tourist destination.
One theme regarding education for the
tourism industry rings like a recurring
symbol throughout Caribbean nations. Baum
(1995) quotes John Bell’s opinion that:
Despite the labour intensive nature of the
hotel and tourism sector, and many technical
and practical skills involved, those hotel
training schools, invariably government
owned, that do exist within the region are
horribly under-funded, under-established and
in general treated like low grade technical
schools for students who cannot make it into
other careers (Baum, 1995).
Grenada can distance itself from comments
like this by allocating sufficient financial
resources to TAMCC in order for its
programmes to make an impact on the local
labour market by providing highly qualified,
competent graduates. The proposed
St George’s University/TAMCC hotel
school project, if realised, should be
private-sector-led, with a substantial subsidy
provided by the government initially.
Without this government support, hospitality
education in Grenada will continue to
maintain the ‘‘step-sister’’ image it now
holds.
The ‘‘monopoly’’ on hospitality education
which TAMCC holds, implies that its
curriculum content should satisfy the needs
of the stakeholders it is intended to serve,
since they have little choice of programmes
from which to recruit employees. The
mistake that is generally made in developing
countries is that overseas consultants are
allowed to develop curriculum that are not
relevant to the local needs. Where success
has been achieved, it has involved
stakeholder participation helping to shape
the kind of curriculum which would account
for the local context and be beneficial to the
local tourism sector. This should be a focal
point for TAMCC in order to improve current
provisions.
The Grenadian government needs to be
bold and discontinue the ‘‘lip-service’’ that
some stakeholders feel it has been paying to
the importance of tourism. A tangible
demonstration of this would be the
implementation of SPEED and in particular,
the development a comprehensive human
resource development policy by the end of
2003 with emphasis on a policy specific to the
tourism industry. SPEED’s success would
impact positively on future hospitality
education in Grenada. An essential
ingredient is the integration of all
stakeholders of hospitality education in its
implementation. The dialogue is long
overdue.
References
Amoah, V.A. and Baum, T. (1997), ‘‘Tourism
education: policy versus practice’’,
International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 5-12.
Baum, T. (1994), ‘‘National tourism policies:
implementing the human resource
dimension’’, Tourism Management, Vol. 15,
pp. 259-66.
Baum, T. (1995), ‘‘The role of the public sector in
the development and implementation of
human resource policies in tourism’’,
[ 159 ]
Michelle L. McDonald and Tourism Recreation Research, Vol. 20 No. 2,
Royston O. Hopkin pp. 25-31.
The future of hospitality CTHRC (2002a), Building a Competitive Caribbean
education in Grenada
Tourism Workforce: CTHRC 2002-2004
International Journal of Strategic Plan (Revised Draft May 2002),
Contemporary Hospitality
Management Caribbean Tourism Human Resource
15/3 [2003] 156-160 Council, Barbados.
CTHRC (2002b), Results of the Caribbean Core
Curriculum Technical Workshop and
Recommendations, Caribbean Tourism
Human Resource Council, Barbados.
CTO (2002), Tourism Statistics 2001, Caribbean
Tourism Organization, Barbados.
Hall, K.O., Holder, J.S. and Jayawardena, C.
(2002), ‘‘Caribbean tourism and the role of
UWI in tourism and hospitality education’’,
Social and Economic Studies, Vol. 51 No. 1,
pp. 145-65.
ILO (2001), Human Resources Development,
Employment and Globalization in the Hotel,
Catering and Tourism Sector, International
Labour Organization, Geneva.
Jayawardena, C. (2001), ‘‘Creating hospitality
management educational programmes in
developing countries’’, International Journal
of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 259-66.
Jayawardena, C. (2001a), ‘‘Challenges in
international hospitality management
[ 160 ]
education’’, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 310-15.
McDonald, M.L. (2002), ‘‘Stakeholders’ opinions of
tourism education in Grenada’’, unpublished
MSc dissertation, University of Surrey,
Guildford.
Ministry of Education (2002), Strategic Plan for
Educational Enhancement and Development
2002-2010, Government of Grenada, Grenada.
OAS (1997), Master Plan for the Tourism Sector:
Grenada, Carriacou, Petite Martinique,
Organization of American States, Grenada.
Ramdeen-Joseph, N. (2003), ‘‘Past, present and
future role of institutions offering hospitality
education in Grenada’’, in Jayawardena, C.
(Ed.), Tourism and Hospitality Education and
Training in the Caribbean, University of the
West Indies Press, Jamaica.
TAMCC (2002), Recognition of TAMCC Associate
Degree and Certificates: Draft Paper, T.A.
Marryshow Community College, Tanteen,
Grenada.
Westlake, J. (1997), ‘‘Hotel and tourism training:
case studies from the University of Surrey’’,
in Human Capital in the Tourism Industry of
the 21st Century, WTO, Madrid, pp. 269-81.
Internal marketing of attitudes in Caribbean tourism
Keywords
Tourism, Attitudes, Caribbean,
Internal marketing, Market share
Abstract
Tourism is the mainstay of the
Caribbean and the attitude of the
people in the region may have a
significant impact on the success
of the industry. This paper
analyzes the way in which tourism
authorities of three Caribbean
destinations have internally
marketed tourism to their host
populations in order to encourage
the desired attitudinal
expressions. A matrix of five
possible responses to tourism was
developed and each of the three
countries was found to occupy
different positions in the matrix.
An analysis of the internal
marketing strategies determined
that the countries adopted
different approaches based on
their particular challenges but
none of the approaches had
achieved lasting success. The
study concludes with
recommendations for future
research.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470202]
Anne P. Crick
Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona,
Kingston, Jamaica
Introduction
Tourism is critical to the Caribbean,
providing substantial foreign exchange
earnings and jobs. A vital pillar
underpinning the industry is the friendliness
and warmth of the Caribbean people. Despite
the importance of these attitudes in tourism,
few studies have examined the subject and
there has been little, if any, analysis of the
structures and systems used to create and
enhance the appropriate attitudes.
This paper attempts to fill that gap by
critically analyzing how three Caribbean
destinations have internally marketed
tourism to their populations, specifically in
the area of attitudes. The paper begins by
defining internal marketing and describing
its role in tourism. The second section of the
paper highlights the importance of emotions
and attitudes in tourism and develops a
matrix of attitudinal responses towards
tourists. Section three of the paper analyzes
the internal marketing strategies of three
Caribbean destinations, especially as they
relate to the creation and maintenance of the
requisite emotions and attitudes in their host
populations. The paper concludes with a
discussion of the implications of this study
and areas for future research.
Internal marketing in tourism
Internal marketing is the promoting of the
firm and its product(s) or product lines to the
firm’s employees (Greene et al., 1994). It uses
marketing analysis and techniques aimed at
the internal market of the company to make
the changes necessary for the external
strategy to be effective (Piercy, 1992). When
successfully done, internal marketing aligns,
educates and motivates staff towards the
achievement of organizational objectives and
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
helps them to understand their role in the
achievement of those objectives (Rafiq and
Ahmed, 2000).
Successful implementation of a tourism
programme depends on the internal
marketing of tourism to the community. The
community is informed of the benefits of
tourism with the goal of helping it to better
understand tourists and their motives for
journeying to the destination. This is critical,
because it is so important that all the people
of the country support the industry. Tourism
may, in fact, be unique in that when visitors
come to a destination they encounter not
only specifically designated service
employees, but also members of the general
population. These individuals are not paid
for their role in enhancing the tourist’s
experience but must behave appropriately
because they form such an integral part of it.
Indeed, many tourist promotions promise
tourists that the entire population is willing
to extend a friendly welcome to them.
Internal marketing in tourism is based on
the assumption that, if the host population
understands and benefits from tourism then
it will welcome it. There is, therefore, a focus
on the benefits of tourism such as foreign
exchange earnings, employment and
infrastructural development. Internal
marketing often ignores the costs associated
with tourism. These costs include
environmental degradation, the disruption of
everyday lives and changes in the
destination’s cultural values and norms
(McIntosh and Goeldner, 1986; Patullo, 1996;
Brown, 2000). They may affect the way in
which the internal marketing promotion is
received by the target market.
Tourism internal marketing is usually
directed at creating an acceptance of tourism
despite these problems. The goal is to
influence the attitudes that the host
population holds towards tourists and to
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
[ 161 ]
Anne P. Crick
Internal marketing of
attitudes in Caribbean tourism
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
[ 162 ]
ultimately influence the way that they
interact with tourists. The next section
examines the role of emotions and attitudes
in tourism.
Emotions and attitudes in tourism
Tourist destinations make extensive use of
emotions in their promotions. Vacationers
are always seen to be happy and relaxed and
are often depicted as being served by equally
happy locals (Wheeler, 1995). Promotions also
make specific claims that suggest to potential
visitors that the host population in general is
not only hospitable, but also anxious to share
their hospitality with the visitor. Further,
pictures frequently depict visitors and locals
interacting in friendly ways.
While the attitudes and emotions that are
actually held by locals may not always be the
same as those that are depicted, promotions
usually do not give any indication that locals
may feel resentful about the encroachment of
tourists (Wheeler, 1995). In fact, where such
feelings do exist, promoters of tourism have
to be concerned about either reducing them,
or encouraging hosts to display positive
emotions irrespective of internally held
feelings. Promoters also have to address
harmful behaviours such as tourist
harassment that would impact negatively on
tourism.
Tourism promoters are therefore faced
with the daunting challenge of managing the
emotions and attitudes of an entire
population. While in a commercial setting,
individual managers can contractually
obligate their employees to comply with their
emotional requirements; this is not possible
when dealing with the general population of
a country where no contract exists. Tourism
officials can therefore only attempt to
persuade the host population to display the
appropriate attitudes.
In the focus of this paper – tourism, there
are at least five situations that authorities
may face in their attempts to persuade. These
are depicted in Figure 1. First, the host
population may genuinely have the desired
attitudes towards tourists. That is they may
really want to welcome them to the country
and befriend them (Position A). A second
possibility is that they may not have the
desired attitudes but are willing to act as if
they did (Position B). The host population
may, for example, resent tourists and the
changes that they bring but may be willing to
hide these feelings and pretend to have
positive feelings. The third possibility is that
the host population does not have the desired
attitudes and fails to conceal the fact
Figure 1
Tourism attitude matrix
(Position C). A fourth possibility is that the
host population holds negative feelings
towards tourists and shows these negative
feelings (Position D). Finally, there may be
a neutral position where the host
population is essentially indifferent to
tourism (Position E).
Position A is clearly the most favourable
position for tourism authorities and would
logically be the thrust of internal marketing
campaigns. If the host population already
holds and expresses positive feelings towards
tourists then the goal would be to maintain
these feelings. If the host population does not
hold these feelings then the goal is to get
them there. Position B is less desirable but
also acceptable because it still results in the
display of the right attitudes. It may also be a
more realistic position considering the
sizeable target population. The neutral
position (E) may not be desirable because
neutrality towards tourists may change very
readily to a more negative position. Tourism
authorities would therefore want to work on
those in Position E to move them to the more
favourable Positions of A or B. Positions C
and D are both undesirable positions because
the visitor may be the target of negative
emotional displays and attitudes. Position D
is particularly dangerous because people in
that position may threaten visitors
physically or verbally, resulting in negative
word of mouth and ultimately a downturn in
the industry. Position C is also serious
because if visitors have been promised a
friendly and warm welcome and receive the
opposite they may feel cheated. The third
section of this paper describes how three
Caribbean tourist destinations have gone
about trying to get their host populations to
display the appropriate attitudes to tourists.
Anne P. Crick
Internal marketing of
attitudes in Caribbean tourism
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
Method
The three countries represent a convenience
sample rather than a representative sample
of the region. Nonetheless, they do display
some of the variation in the region in terms
of stage of tourist development, size and
social and economic development.
The study involved three phases:
1 literature review – review of brochures
and relevant tourism documents;
2 interviews of two key tourism officials
involved in internal marketing in each
destination; and
3 visits to the destinations.
The Caribbean
In this paper the term ‘‘Caribbean’’’ refers to
the 34 countries that are members of the
Caribbean Tourism Organization. Most of
the countries in the Caribbean are former
plantation economies and colonies with a
population predominantly made up of
descendants of slaves. Tourism, with its
quick injections of foreign exchange and
opportunities for development and
employment, has been seen as critical to the
survival of most of the countries in the
region. The three countries selected for this
study have fully embraced tourism and have
dedicated significant resources to its
promotion and development.
Jamaica
Jamaica – the third largest English speaking
country in the Caribbean – has pursued
tourism seriously since the 1950s. As
traditional sources of earning such as
agriculture and mining have declined,
tourism has become more important as a
source of foreign exchange and employment.
The country was and continues to be a sand,
sea and sun destination, but has long ago
diversified and today is also known for its
vibrant music festivals, heritage and culture.
Promotions have always tried to portray the
diversity of the culture and as early as 1968
the Jamaica Tourist Board described its
promotional strategy as being:
To present Jamaica as it is – a country with
its own character, cultural development and
idiosyncrasies.
This strategy meant that the Jamaican
people were as much on show as were the
island’s natural attributes. Bob Marley’s
signature tune ‘‘One Love’’ has featured
prominently in advertisements that also
invite visitors to ‘‘Come to Jamaica and feel
alright’’.
Despite these inviting pictures, Jamaicans
are not uniformly seen as welcoming to
visitors. In fact as many as 43 per cent of
visitors say that they have been harassed
while on vacation (JTB Report on
Harassment, 1999). In a 2000 survey of eight
warm weather destinations, visitors
described their perception of Jamaicans as
being ‘‘the most lazy, dishonest,
unresponsive, unreliable, threatening, surly
and hostile’’ people among those of the eight
warm weather destinations (Alexander,
2000). For their part, many Jamaicans feel
excluded from the industry. A recent study
found further that tourism was considered to
be the domain of the ‘‘big man’’ (Dunn and
Dunn, 2002). The same study found that there
was a simmering resentment about the
exclusion from the industry – particularly
from those who lived in areas close to the
resorts.
It is perhaps for this reason that Jamaica
has a very sophisticated internal marketing
programme. The most consistent strategy has
been to emphasize the financial benefits that
derive from tourism through radio,
television and print campaigns aimed at the
general public with the general theme
‘‘tourism is our business’’ – a reminder that
the country needs tourism in order to
survive. The focus would appear to be on
moving the population to Quadrant B. In
other words, tourism authorities are
focusing on encouraging the host population
to display the requisite feelings and emotions
irrespective of personal feelings.
This is not a uniform strategy, however,
since tourism officials appear to be trying to
move direct tourism employees and school
children into Quadrant A – that is to the
point where they hold positive feelings about
tourism. Jamaica has recently launched its
‘‘tourism infusion’’ programme which is
intended to introduce and teach tourism
concepts to students through inclusion in
other subjects. Its stated goals are to promote
more positive and caring attitudes towards
tourism and to encourage young people to
prepare themselves for careers in tourism.
Other school programmes include
partnerships with hotels and tourism debates
and quizzes.
Another significant Quadrant A activity
involves the ‘‘Team Jamaica’’ programme.
This programme is mandatory for all
tourism-related workers including craft
vendors and taxi drivers. It aims to, among
other things, train tourism employees in the
appropriate behaviours and attitudes by
developing their own self-esteem and
knowledge about the industry.
[ 163 ]
Anne P. Crick
Internal marketing of
attitudes in Caribbean tourism
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
[ 164 ]
St Lucia
St Lucia was, until recently, highly
dependent on the banana industry as a
source of employment and foreign exchange
earnings. The loss of preferential markets
has meant that the country has turned more
fully towards tourism and today it is the
number one industry in the country in terms
of GDP, foreign exchange earnings and it also
accounts for a large percentage of jobs.
Originally a sand, sea and sun destination,
St Lucia has attempted to diversify into
cultural and environmental tourism. The
people of St Lucia remain central to the
promotions, however, since St Lucia has also
sought to highlight the diversity of its
heritage. One brochure describes the island
as being ‘‘rich in history, a perfect blend of
French, British and African cultures’’. It
continues, explaining that ‘‘the colourful
nature of history, culture and race makes the
locals unique and ideal for discovery’’.
Surveys indicate that St Lucians see
tourism as important with more than half of
the respondents believing that tourism had a
positive effect on their lives and provided
employment and financial benefits. This
belief tended to vary with the involvement in
tourism (Public Awareness and Attitudinal
Survey, 2001). Two potential problems are,
however, that the people of St Lucia see
tourism as being owned and managed by
foreigners and that more than half of the
respondents did not believe that St Lucia had
benefitted culturally from tourism
(Coathrup, 2002). There is also evidence from
the Public Awareness and Attitudinal Survey
(2001) that while tourism is seen as important
to the financial wellbeing of the country it
has not been fully accepted as a replacement
for agriculture – formerly the country’s main
foreign exchange earner.
St Lucian authorities also admit to some
concern about the level of harassment of
tourists and the relative indifference that
some St Lucians hold towards the industry.
Statistics indicate that while those directly
involved in tourism can attest to its benefits,
those who are not directly involved are less
likely to see it as beneficial, suggesting that a
large number of St Lucians do not appear to
be strongly supportive of the industry.
St Lucia would therefore appear to have
much of its population in Quadrant E – not
hostile to tourism but not particularly warm
to it either. This would be in keeping with the
fact that St Lucia can be described as being in
transition – only recently having to depend
so fully on tourism as a source of foreign
exchange and jobs. The fragility of Position E
would be of concern to the authorities
however, because it can so easily move to the
less favourable positions in Quadrants C or D.
The key challenge for St Lucian authorities is
therefore to move people from the neutral
position to Positions A or B, where there are
positive feelings about tourism.
St Lucian authorities have attempted to do
so by emphasizing the financial benefits of
tourism to the average St Lucian. They have
used radio, television and popular theatre to
promote the stories of everyday St Lucians
who earn their living from tourism. The
authorities have also invested significant
amounts of time in visiting schools and
communities to share their message. There is
also an ‘‘adopt a school’’ programme and a
plan to get hoteliers to commit to giving at
least one lecture a year to students.
The St Lucian authorities have gone
further however. One tourism official
describes the keywords of their internal
marketing strategy as being ‘‘ownership and
partnership’’. Part of the internal marketing
strategy is therefore to make sure that
communities benefit directly from tourism.
Weekly street festivals are community
sponsored with the role of the tourism
authorities being merely to promote them
and give guidance where necessary.
Similarly, the government has made sure
that community groups have been involved
and have taken ownership of many of the
heritage projects. The St Lucian strategy
appears, therefore, to be an effort to persuade
the host population to move into quadrant A
by helping them to reap financial and other
benefits from tourism.
The Bahamas
Like Jamaica, The Bahamas has a relatively
developed tourist product having been
seriously involved in tourism since the 1950s.
It is an archipelago of islands and is highly
dependent on tourism with four out of ten
jobs and 75 per cent of foreign exchange
earnings coming from the industry. Like the
other countries in this study, The Bahamas
has primarily sun, sand and sea tourism but
has recently tried to diversify by
encouraging visitors to come to explore the
natural delights of the family or ‘‘out’’
islands. The ‘‘out’’ islands are portrayed as
being exceptionally friendly and welcoming
to tourists. The most recent advertising
strategy geared towards the USA is to
emphasize the closeness in distance as well
as friendship between the two countries
(Capron, 2001).
According to Bahamian officials, tourism
has been highly regarded by most Bahamians
because it is so central to the economy.
Despite this there are serious concerns about
two factors. The first is the fact that tourism
Anne P. Crick
Internal marketing of
attitudes in Caribbean tourism
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
still continues to be seen as an industry of
last resort for job seekers. Related to that is
the concern that those involved in tourism
see it merely as a job rather than as a
profession requiring their full attention and
effort. Bahamian officials are also concerned
about recent slippages in their ratings. The
2001 National Tourism Quality Assurance
survey revealed that 14 per cent of visitors
said that it was ‘‘somewhat unlikely’’ or
‘‘unlikely’’ that they would recommend The
Bahamas to their friends and relatives.
Reasons included bad attitudes (Gilbert,
2002). The survey also indicated that 13 per
cent of tourists surveyed were unhappy with
the bad attitudes and behaviour among the
Bahamian people.
In The Bahamas, the problem appears to be
mainly in Quadrant C where Bahamians,
perhaps used to tourism after such a long
exposure to it, may have become jaded by it
and may even resent some of the changes that
it engenders. There is also evidence of
problems in Quadrant D with the level of
harassment becoming of some concern to
officials.
Bahamian authorities appear to be
concerned about moving people to
Quadrant A and to do this they use the
financial benefits of tourism to encourage
Bahamians to hold positive attitudes towards
tourism. They remind them, for example,
that because of the parity of their dollar with
the US dollar Bahamians enjoy a much
stronger purchasing power than their
Caribbean counterparts and that 65 per cent
of government revenue comes primarily
from customs duties – a direct result of
tourism. The Bahamian way of life is
therefore demonstrated to be highly
dependent on tourism.
Like Jamaica, The Bahamas also focuses
on its schoolchildren. Two programmes –
Hospitality Opportunities through
Experiential Learning (HOTEL) and Tourism
Education Awareness Module (TEAM) have
been specifically developed for the schools.
There are also summer fairs, debates and
mentoring programmes targeted towards
schoolchildren.
Again, in common with Jamaica, The
Bahamas has a mandatory training
programme for all tourist employees. The
‘‘Bahamahost’’ programme that was the
model for Jamaica’s ‘‘Team Jamaica’’
programme, attempts to build self-esteem in
tourist employees by increasing their
knowledge of the industry. While this
programme is a cornerstone of the Tourism
Ministry’s efforts, officials are concerned
about its ability to effect long lasting change.
They are therefore in the process of
introducing a new programme –
‘‘Bahamahost Gold’’, which will be directed at
the high performers in the industry. The idea
is to target this smaller group for more
intensive training than would be possible
with a larger group. The Bahamas has also
introduced ‘‘Adventures with Attitude’’ – a
programme that has started with employees
of the Ministry of Tourism and will
eventually be spread to the wider industry.
The programme does not focus on
interactions with tourists but rather
interactions with other Bahamians. The
philosophy is steeped in the thinking of
internal customer service – that is, if people
treat each other better, then that will
eventually flow into the way that they
interact with customers (see, for example,
Heskett et al., 1997). A final aspect of the
Bahamian internal marketing strategy is the
National Tourism Quality Assurance
Programme which is currently producing a
special training module that is intended to
address negative behaviour patterns or
trends and to promote friendly and courteous
service. This programme involves the
services of a psychiatrist who will be used to
help to identify cultural barriers and areas of
receptiveness to the training (Gilbert, 2001).
Again this indicates the intention to move
towards Quadrant A – positive feelings and
acceptance of tourism.
Conclusion
The three countries examined have built
their tourism promotions on, among other
factors, the warmth and friendliness of their
people. Their internal marketing strategies
are therefore focused on trying to make sure
that when tourists come to the country they
do in fact experience this warmth and
friendliness. The study has shown that the
three countries are starting at different
points in the tourist attitude matrix with
Jamaica facing problems with the expression
and non-concealment of negative feelings,
The Bahamas, with the non-concealment of
negative feelings; and St Lucia, primarily
with a neutral or indifferent feeling to
tourism. Strategies used by The Bahamas
and St Lucia seem to be concerned about
getting their host populations to both hold
and express positive feelings while Jamaica
has shown a more segmented approach.
Despite significant expenditure in all three
countries, the internal marketing campaign
continues to be essential, indicating that it
has not been successful in creating the
desired attitudes. In fact, all three countries
have indicated that they intend to step up
[ 165 ]
Anne P. Crick
Internal marketing of
attitudes in Caribbean tourism
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 161-166
[ 166 ]
their campaigns because they are concerned
about slippages in attitude. This paper
merely sought to introduce the topic and
reasons for the lack of success are therefore
beyond its scope; but the study does
introduce some interesting areas for
research that might explain it.
Future research should examine, for
example, whether the host population
believes the message of the internal
marketing campaign. Surveys from Jamaica
and St Lucia suggest that the message of
financial benefits may not be fully accepted
by the wider population. Therefore, while
tourism authorities have tried to vary the
way in which the message has been
delivered, perhaps they should examine the
way in which the message is perceived.
Future research should also examine the
‘‘noise’’ that may be affecting the message.
There may be some deep-seated feelings, such
as preference for the more independent
agricultural base in St Lucia, that create
some resistance to the message. A final issue
has to do with the external message and its
depiction of the people of the country.
Research should examine whether the
message is one that remains appropriate and
acceptable to the host populations and if not,
how would they like to be portrayed?
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Review, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 38-49.
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in the Caribbean
Keywords
Holiday industry, Tourism, Quality,
Caribbean, Hotels,
Hospitality industry
Abstract
Seeks to review the all-inclusive
concept in the context of the
Caribbean. The origin of all-
inclusives in the world and the
Caribbean is analysed. The
concept was first introduced in
holiday camps in Britain during the
1930s. Club Med is credited for
popularizing the concept globally
in the 1950s. However, the credit
of introducing a luxury version of
the all-inclusive concept goes to a
Jamaican hotelier and co-author of
this article. In defining the
concept of all-inclusives, one
cannot ignore the significant role
Jamaica has played. Currently,
Jamaica has 17 of the best 100
all-inclusive resorts in the world.
Even though all-inclusives are
occasionally criticized, they are
seen as a necessary evil.
Concludes by predicting that all-
inclusives are here to stay in the
Caribbean and will play a major
role in tourism for the foreseeable
future.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 167-171
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470211]
John J. Issa
SuperClubs, Kingston, Jamaica
Chandana Jayawardena
Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
The concept
It is generally accepted that the all-inclusive
and cruise businesses are the most vibrant,
dynamic and fastest growing sub-sectors in
the tourism industry in the Caribbean.
According to Paris and Zona-Paris (1999), the
all-inclusive philosophy espouses no
surprises (unless surprise is part of the
program), especially unexpected costs. It
promises consistency and quality – good
beverages and fare, safe and comfortable
accommodations, caring staff, and plenty of
accessible activities. Poon (1998) states that
the original all-inclusive concept has been
around for a long time and was first
introduced in the holiday camps (Butlins,
Pontins) in Britain during the 1930s.
However, they were not totally all-inclusive
because they were not cashless. Drinks, tips
and other services were paid for in some
form of currency.
In the 1950s, Club Meditarranee, the
French company popularly known as ‘‘Club
Med’’, started to expand the concept of the
holiday camp around the globe. Club Med
was the first different hotel product created
for warm weather beach destinations.
According to Clark (2000), the product was
designed to eliminate extra charges that can
sour the sweetest of vacations. Club Med
must be given the credit for having invented
the club holiday and successfully expanding
the concept around the world. However,
again, they were not all-inclusive by today’s
definition of the word, as one still had to use
plastic beads as currency to purchase drinks
and other services. The Club Med type of
vacation was successful during the early
post-war years in setting different standards
in comfort and providing new, continuous
entertainment for all ages at reasonable
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
prices. During its growth phase, it was the
aim of the club camp to provide a holiday
experience for the low-income vacationer. By
the middle of the 1960s, the company had
established itself as the leader of Club
Holiday, targeted initially at young singles
destined for a fun loving, adventurous
vacation. Club Med gained fame as a
free-wheeling venue for singles. Its popularly
spurred imitators and competitors. Over
time, Club Med shifted from its ‘‘swinging
singles’’ image to a broader family market.
Since its inception, the Club Med holiday
concept has taken off in Europe, Asia, Africa
and of course, the Caribbean.
Although the cruise industry offers a
similar package concept to the all-inclusive
vacation, payment is still made for such
extras as alcoholic beverages and some
activities, much like the Club Med vacation.
Clark (2000) investigated deals at three
Caribbean all-inclusive resorts and on three
cruise lines and concluded:
. the land-based resorts generally offered
more amenities in the base price, but they
also cost 12 per cent more to twice as
much as cruises;
. as cruise pricing tends to be more volatile
than resort pricing, travelers with some
flexibility can take advantage of deep
discounts offered;
. once on board a cruise ship, such extras as
drinks, shore excursions, tips and, on
newer ships, premium foods and activities
can add hundreds of extra dollars to the
tab; and
. at many all-inclusive resorts, rates
typically include all food, land and water
activities, equipment with instruction,
drinks and tips.
Poon (1998) describes the all-inclusive
concept as an important product innovation
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
[ 167 ]
John J. Issa and
Chandana Jayawardena
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in
the Caribbean
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 167-171
[ 168 ]
in the international tourism market place, as
it packages various elements of the tourism
product. They introduce some degree of
product differentiation to the traditional
Caribbean hotel product. She describes the
sector as a:
. . . logical progression from independent
group package travel, half board, full board
and ultimately full service.
All-inclusives have revolutionised and have
made a major impact on the concept of
hospitality service in most Caribbean
countries. It was a fundamentally different
holiday where a visitor had to carry no form
of currency, paper, coin or plastic. In the
Caribbean today, generally the all-inclusive
concept goes much further and covers
practically everything a hotel or resort has to
offer, including all drinks, taxes, transfers
from and to airport to hotel and sports, with
tipping being prohibited. A result of such a
price package, in most cases, is money being
eliminated from the holiday experience and
the visitor knowing in advance what their
holiday is likely to cost, except for personal
expenses, such as telephone calls, laundry,
car hire, dining off-property and shopping.
Some resorts’ rates also include airport
transfers, snacks, scuba diving, weddings,
horseback riding, spa treatments, golf and
more. As almost everything is paid for before
leaving home, guests can relax without
worrying about currency exchange rates,
local tipping customs, running out of cash or
exceeding their budget.
According to Poon (1998), the all-inclusive
concept and the idea of being protected in a
closed resort was particularly appealing to
many visitors. Not only that, but all-inclusive
resorts are becoming a fixture of the vacation
landscape in a growing number of
destinations as consumer demand fuels their
expansion and the product evolves to meet
the needs of today’s travelers.
Developments in the Caribbean
It was out of adversity that the Jamaican and
Caribbean’s all-inclusive industry was born.
This at a time when Jamaica’s tourism
industry at the time did not need any more
rooms unless the rooms were different or
offered a different holiday. The concept
practiced by Club Med and the cruise
industry, both of which were somewhat
inclusive, which appeared to be doing very
well at the time was, however, seen as a
direction. In 1976, Hedonism II, then called
Negril Beach Village, was conceived and
opened in Jamaica by John Issa. The young
singles image of the all-inclusive concept
continued until 1978 when Issa again
influenced the industry by opening Couples
in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, which was for couples
only and included drinks as well as tours.
Issa went on in 1987 to launch the first
all-inclusive resort for families. The success
of these resorts were soon noted by the travel
industry. This led to many companies
copying the various concepts. Major
international hotel companies are now
investing in the expansion of the all-inclusive
business in the Caribbean.
US tour operators were not at all optimistic
of the potential of all-inclusives when Issa
ventured into this business in 1976. In spite of
this he decided to go ahead with his gut
feeling. The risk and gamble worked in his
favour and many followers have benefited
from his initiatives. During the oil
embargo-caused recession in the early 1970s,
he recognized that the only two areas of
tourism that were not suffering were Club
Med and cruise ships. While differing in
image, they shared one thing in common –
they were both somewhat inclusive. Issa took
the concept and customized it, adding extras
and amenities not found in other inclusive
vacation packages. He later elevated it to
‘‘super-inclusive’’ to distinguish SuperClubs
from all-inclusives catering to ‘‘budget’’
segments of the market.
Critics of all-inclusives resorts sometimes
charge that they interfere with the ‘‘trickle
down’’ benefits of tourism by importing
provisions and discouraging guests from
leaving the property. SuperClubs and
Sandals on the other hand, supports
indigenous businesses by buying food
provisions from local farmers and markets,
and hard goods from local manufacturers. In
addition, by including excursions, as well as
visits to crafts markets and local shops, these
market leaders promote meaningful contact
between guests and inhabitants. Local artists
and vendors are also invited on to properties,
and given space on the beach to set up a stall
and sell their wares. Today, SuperClubs
operates 17 resorts in Jamaica, Cuba, The
Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Curaçao and
Brazil. The SuperClubs resorts are divided
into product brands such as Grand Lido,
Breezes, Hedonism, Starfish and Puntarena.
Five years after the introduction of Negril
Beach Village by John Issa, Gordon ‘‘Butch’’
Stewart, chairman of Sandals Resort
International, opened his first all-inclusive
hotel at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Today
Sandals operates hotels in Jamaica, Cuba,
St Lucia, Antigua, The Bahamas and the
John J. Issa and
Chandana Jayawardena
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in
the Caribbean
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 167-171
Turks and Caicos islands. According to
Henry (2001), 17 resorts later, Sandals has
become a world class success story with one
of the most recognizable brand names in the
international hospitality industry Sandals
has a second brand – Beaches, which caters
to the family market. With the acquisition of
the Plantation Inn in Jamaica and the
subsequent heavy investment, Sandals
appears to have created another category of
luxury brand. Unlike SuperClubs, Sandals
owns most of the hotels it manages with the
exception being the hotels in Cuba.
Both SuperClubs and Sandals have
successfully imported the concept to the rest
of the Caribbean. It differs significantly from
most of the European-managed resorts
operating in the Caribbean where guests pay
for drinks and tipping and at times lack the
real ‘‘Caribbean charm’’. Franchising is an
option both Issa and Stewart do not believe
in, in spite of many offers. At the same time,
in the 1980s, when the Sandals empire was
beginning and SuperClubs continuing to
expand, Jack Tar Village Resorts, a US
company, was setting up operations in
several Caribbean islands. By 1985, there
were Jack Tar Villages in Jamaica,
Dominican Republic, The Bahamas and
St Kitts. Other companies also emerged
during this period, although the majority
focused their growth in their respective
territories, like Maeva in Mexico.
Initially, some destinations have resisted
the introduction of the all-inclusive concept.
But, today, in addition to operations of the
major chains, the all-inclusive package has
been introduced in many of the Caribbean
destinations. Besides SuperClubs and
Sandals, the all-inclusive concept was
adopted by many other resorts and the 1980s
witnessed ‘‘an all-inclusive fever among
hoteliers’’. In addition to the SuperClubs and
Sandals companies, another all-inclusive
giant has emerged within the region, Allegro
Resorts Corporation, which is based in the
Dominican Republic, as ‘‘one of the world’s
largest operators of all-inclusive resorts’’.
The Allegro has over 20 all-inclusive resorts
located in Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Turks and Caicos, Venezuela as well as in
Tunisia and Morocco. Similar to SuperClubs
it also markets multiple brands: Royal
Hideaway, Jack Tar Village Resorts, Allegro
Resorts and Caribbean Villages. Two of the
Caribbean-based all-inclusive chains have
been placed in the top five major all-inclusive
chains world wide, with Allegro Resorts
being the newest entry to the fold. The
Dominican Republic has the largest hotel
bedroom stock in the Caribbean. Out of its
50,000 rooms more than one third are all-
inclusive hotel rooms.
The Organisation of American States
carried out a study of the economic impact of
the performance of the tourism industry in
1992 and 1997 in Jamaica. The study of 1992
concluded:
. the all-inclusives generate the largest
amount of revenue, but their impact on
the economy is smaller per dollar of
revenue than other accommodation
sub-sectors;
. the non all-inclusive accommodation
import less and employ more people per
dollar revenue than the all-inclusives;
. the all-inclusives generate negative
foreign exchange earnings due to high
levels of imports;
. in terms of direct impact, the all-inclusive
hotels make the largest contribution to
GDP with the largest non all-inclusives
second; and
. all-inclusives generate a significant
proportion (52.6 per cent) of total foreign
exchange earnings generated by the
accommodation sector in Jamaica.
Sandals is currently designated as the official
resort of West Indies Cricket, with the Sandals
particular brand of color and fun introduced
to matches across the UK. SuperClubs and
Sandals are arch rivals, but the fact remains
that these two competing companies have
contributed significantly to the economies of
Jamaica, as well as to other countries in
which they operate. The contributions of
these two companies to the Jamaican
economy, in particular, are unprecedented by
any other business organisation.
Recent research
Paris and Zona-Paris (1999) considers any
hotel that may have an all-inclusive package
for all the guests or only a segment of the
guests as an all-inclusive resort. As a result
of this criterion, they were able to list 663
hotels in the world as all-inclusive hotels in
1999. Among these hotels, they then selected
100 of the best all-inclusives in the world.
According to the all-inclusive ratings by
Paris and Zona-Paris (1999), 48 of the 100 best
all-inclusive resorts in the world are in the
Caribbean. The country breakdown of these
48 resorts is provided in Table I.
It is not surprising that Jamaica, with 17 of
these resorts, has:
. 17 per cent of the world’s best; and
. 35 per cent of the Caribbean’s best
all-inclusive resorts.
[ 169 ]
John J. Issa and
Chandana Jayawardena
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in
the Caribbean
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 167-171
[ 170 ]
Table I
Best all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean
No. of
Country resorts %
Jamaica 17 35.4
Bahamas 6 12.5
Antigua and Barbuda 4 8.3
British Virgin Islands 4 8.3
St Lucia 4 8.3
Barbados 3 6.2
Dominican Republic 3 6.2
Anguilla 1 2.1
Aruba 1 2.1
Bermuda 1 2.1
Cayman Islands 1 2.1
Grenada 1 2.1
Turks and Caicos Islands 1 2.1
US Virgin Islands 1 2.1
Total 48 100.0
Recently, a group of graduate students of the
University of the West Indies, embarked on
research on the all-inclusive business.
Brown et al. (2000) investigated the trends
and impact of the all-inclusive hotel sector
on national economies, namely those of
Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The
all-inclusive concept is based on continuous
improvement and innovation. Key issues
identified which needed to be addressed,
were human resources development and
greater levels of collaboration between this
sub-sector and regional governments.
Subsequent research by these graduate
students evaluates and assesses the
viability of the all-inclusive concept in
small hotels in Antigua. The researchers
reveal that the concept is already present in
hotels but many problems were
experienced, such as lack of working
capital, high utility cost and lack of effective
marketing. Essential success factors
identified included location, innovative
management and quality. There is,
however, a need for closer collaboration
between hotels, NTOs and government to
salvage the small hotel sector. One of these
students examined resorts in St Kitts and
Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, revealing
that there is a high rate of turnover in the
resort in Antigua because of lack of trust
between employees and management. In the
main resort in St Kitts, human resources for
management positions are imported
because of a shortage of skill on island. The
researchers recommend a changing of the
service culture in the Antiguan resorts and
the developing of closer working
relationships with training institutions in
St Kitts to train and prepare persons to fill
vacancies that exist with the sector.
Another student in this group carried out
research of three up-market all-inclusives in
Jamaica. Quality strategies in three all-
inclusive resorts were identified and
compared with those of European plan
hotels. Findings reveal that though there
were strategies, challenges existed in
implementing them because of the low
levels of management commitment and low
levels of employee job satisfaction.
Conclusions
Based on the current research, the following
are foresighted:
. All-inclusives will continue to grow in the
Caribbean with a major influence on
customer service in the entire hospitality
sector in the Caribbean.
. All-inclusives (along with cruise
business) will play a lead role in
creativity, innovations in new product
and service development and aggressive
marketing.
. Luxuries of the all-inclusives in the past,
such as 24-hour room service, adjoining
golf courses, spas, valet service, fine
dining, and the choice of 5-6 restaurants in
one hotel will become common features in
most all-inclusive resorts in the
Caribbean.
. All-inclusives will help in sustaining the
Caribbean’s image as the ‘‘most
romantic region for tourism’’. The
wedding/honeymoon segment
within all-inclusives will grow further.
. Facilities for children and childcare
within ‘‘family’’ all-inclusives will become
more sophisticated and age bracket
(under 5, 5-8, 9-12, young teen, etc.)
segment-specific facilities will be
developed.
. The element of ‘‘nudeness’’ as a natural
aspect of life will become more popular in
adult all-inclusive resorts. The trend set
by SuperClubs on ‘‘nude weddings’’ on
Valentine’s day in 2001 will grow, in spite
of serious criticisms.
. The importance of the quality and
variety of the Entertainment element will
grow further in all-inclusives and will be
used as the benchmark by most of the
other categories of resorts in the
Caribbean.
John J. Issa and
Chandana Jayawardena
The ‘‘all-inclusive’’ concept in
the Caribbean
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 167-171
The all-inclusive concept, in spite of
occasional criticisms, is here to stay in the
Caribbean for a long time, and will continue
to play a major role in tourism development
in the region.
References
Brown, D., Elmes, L. and Medina, G.Y. (2000),
A Study of the All-inclusive Sector in the
Caribbean with Emphasis on
Dominican Republic and Jamaica, Graduate
Paper, The University of the West Indies,
Jamaica.
Clark, J. (2000), ‘‘The art of all-inclusive vacation
deals: a Caribbean comparison of resorts vs
cruises’’, USA Today, 7 January.
Henry, B. (2001), ‘‘The role of training and
development in the Sandals success story’’,
Conference Paper, Pan-American
Confederation of Hospitality and Tourism
Schools, Cuba, April.
Paris, J. and Zona-Paris, C. (1999), 100 Best
All-Inclusive Resorts of the World, The Globe
Pequot Press, Guilford, CT.
Poon, A. (1998), All-Inclusive Resorts, Economic
Intelligence Unit, Travel & Tourism Analyst,
6 November.
[ 171 ]
Research in brief
The feasibility of Sabbath-keeping in the Caribbean
hospitality industry
Keywords
Tourism, Hospitality, Religion,
Hospitality industry, Hotels,
Holiday industry
Abstract
This article addresses religious
tolerance for Sabbath-keepers in
the hospitality industry. The
authors approach this issue by
assessing the perception of
managers in the Jamaican tourism
industry on this topic. A major
finding was that managers are
reluctant to employ persons who
have a strong desire to observe
the Sabbath. The researchers also
discovered that the law does not
provide specific provisions to
protect the rights of Sabbath-
keepers. Managers are, however,
willing to make arrangements to
facilitate these individuals
whenever possible. This augurs
well for students of hospitality
management who desire to
observe the Sabbath. More
research on this topic is needed
since this study is by no means
exhaustive.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 172-175
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470220]
[ 172 ]
Eritha Huntley
Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Technology, Jamaica
Carol Barnes-Reid
Department of Nutrition, Tourism and Hospitality Management,
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica
Introduction
The hospitality sector is the most visible and
labour-intensive sector in the tourism
industry. As a result, the demand for
employment is constantly increasing as more
hotels are being developed across the world.
The industry is characterised as having very
flexible working hours and a shift system
that requires some employees to work at
hours and on days that would be considered
unusual in traditional businesses. The
decision to pursue a career in the fields of
tourism and hospitality management, for an
individual who observes the Sabbath, is
therefore, one that requires deep
contemplation because of the possible
ramifications of such a decision. Foremost, is
the obvious impact that the required working
hours within the industry will have on an
individual’s desire to keep their Sabbath.
Observing the Sabbath is based on the
instructions of the Ten Commandments
given to the children of Israel. This custom is
practiced not only by Jews, but by other
Protestant religions including Seventh-day
Adventists and Seventh-day Baptist.
Generally, most Sabbath-keepers consider
the period between sundown on Friday to
sundown on Saturday as holy hours.
Likewise, Sunday is considered to be a ‘‘holy
day’’ by some Protestants’ religions such as
Pentecostals. Muslims, Hindus and other
religious groups do not prescribe to this
religious thinking, but may consider other
days in the week as holy.
This article will, therefore, seek to identify
the hospitality industry’s position on
employing Sabbath-keepers. The authors
bring a unique perspective to this research
since at the time of this research they were
both lecturers in the Nutrition, Tourism and
Hospitality Department of Northern
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
Caribbean University (NCU), a private
Seventh-day Adventist institution in
Manchester, Jamaica.
Research objectives
1 To determine the availability of degree
programmes in hospitality management
by Sabbath-keeping religious institutions.
2 To investigate the attitude of the industry
towards these individuals.
3 To investigate the feasibility of
individuals who worship on Saturday
pursuing a career in the hospitality
industry.
Degrees in hospitality
management
A review of programme offerings from
universities around the world revealed that
only a few Sabbath-based, religious schools
offer programmes in Tourism and/or
Hospitality Management. In Israel, for
example, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
seemed to be the only Jewish University
offering a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and
Tourism Management[1]. Likewise, Northern
Caribbean University is, currently, the only
Seventh-day Adventist institution that offers
a degree in hospitality management. The
apparent reluctance by religious institutions
to train men and women for the hospitality
industry has its roots in the religious
doctrines that govern them. NCU has,
however, accepted a role in preparing men
and women to contribute to the development
of the Caribbean tourism industry. Even
though the majority of the students enrolled
in the Hospitality programme are not
Sabbath-keepers, those associated with the
Seventh-day Adventist church do have major
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
Eritha Huntley and
Carol Barnes-Reid
The feasibility of Sabbath-
keeping in the Caribbean
hospitality industry
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 172-175
concerns regarding level of religious
tolerance and acceptance that exists within
this sector.
Religious tolerance in the
workplace
Very little research regarding religious
tolerance in the hospitality industry, as it
relates specifically to Sabbath-keepers, has
been done. Misek (2002) points out in her
report on this issue, however, that
addressing religion in the workplace is a
delicate challenge. Managers interviewed for
her study held the similar view that for
religious diversity in the workplace they had
to be flexible, try to accommodate all beliefs
when possible, learn about different
religions, and foster respect for all religious
and cultural traditions. However, the bottom
line is that for the lodging industry – a
24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week enterprise,
granting employee requests for time off, even
if for religious reasons, may not always be
possible. Misek interviewed Marian Babieri,
Vice-President of human resources for New
Castle Hotels who stated the following:
If someone makes a request for time off and
business conditions allow us to accommodate
it, we do.
The question to ask therefore is: What
happens when business conditions do not
allow for time off? The obvious answer is that
the time will not be given.
According to Misek’s report, Wyndham
International tries to be flexible in granting
time off by the process of holiday swapping,
and allows employees to use personal days
for religious observance. Personal and sick
days are combined and then referred to as
paid off days; the employee is then free to use
these days for whatever reason they may
choose.
Protection from religious
discrimination
Laws governing religious freedom in
democratic societies protect employees.
However, there are instances when the law
will not provide this protection. In the law
books of the USA, Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act (CRA) of 1964 prohibits harassment
because of religious preferences as well as
discrimination in disciplining and hiring
(Byer, 2001). Furthermore, it requires that
employers accommodate employees’
religious observances and practices if the
beliefs are sincerely held. However, the
employer does not have to grant religious
accommodation if it would violate seniority
rights of co-workers or a collective
bargaining agreement, exceed ordinary
administrative costs, or deny the shift and
job preference of some employees, but not
others. An employer can also choose its own
methods of accommodation (as long as it is
reasonable) over a plan suggested by the
employee (Byer, 2001).
On the contrary, there are no specific laws
in Jamaica governing religious freedom in
the workplace. Instead, the Jamaican
Constitution makes general provisions for
freedom of religion and freedom to worship.
The proposed Bill of Rights tabled before
parliament should however, give special
focus to issues of religious intolerance and
human rights.
Communicating expectations and
beliefs
Communication is the key. A prospective
employee should remember that it is
pertinent to be open about his/her religious
observance with regard to the work schedule.
It is unethical to hide religious preference in
order to get a job, and then later refuse to
work on any day that is considered a day of
worship. Additionally, such a practice would
most likely result in religious intolerance. By
the same token, human resources managers
have to present to potential employees an
honest assessment of what their job will
require of them so that they can make an
informed choice. This sentiment is share by
Kathryn Davanza, President of the Society
for Human Resource Management in
St Petersburg, Florida, who stated that:
Sometimes a person will self-eliminate when
they know the nature of the work (quoted in
Meinhardt, 2002).
Methodology
The population for this study was selected
from areas in Jamaica such as Kingston,
Trelawny, St Elizabeth, Ocho Rios, Montego
Bay and Negril. The researchers conducted
interviews with 12 individuals who held
well-articulated views on the research topic.
The list of interviewees comprises:
. human resource managers;
. resident managers;
. general managers; and
. administrative assistants.
They have an average of over nine years’
experience in the tourism and hospitality
industry.
The research instrument comprised a
number of questions that was administered
to members of the study population. The
[ 173 ]
Eritha Huntley and
Carol Barnes-Reid
The feasibility of Sabbath-
keeping in the Caribbean
hospitality industry
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 172-175
[ 174 ]
findings from this instrument were tabulated
and analysed to inform the research findings
and the discussion that will ensue.
Findings and discussion
Of the persons interviewed for this research,
two of the respondents were unaware of the
fact that the Northern Caribbean University
offered an associates degree in Hospitality
Management. They unanimously agreed,
however, that their organisations supported
religious diversity with 83.3 per cent stating
that they did and 16.7 per cent stating they
did not support religious diversity in their
organisation. When asked if they were equal
opportunity employers of Sabbath-keepers,
there was a noticeable shift in the responses:
66.7 per cent said ‘‘yes’’ while 33.3 per cent
said ‘‘no’’. Their primary concern was that it
is often difficult to guarantee days off to
employees, particularly Friday night and
Saturdays, since those were the busiest times
at the hotels.
On the question of making scheduling
changes to accommodate the Sabbath-
keeping members of staff, the respondents
were given options ranging from ‘‘very good’’
feelings to ‘‘very bad’’ feelings. The
responses were varied, with 33.3 per cent
stating that they felt ‘‘very good’’ about
making schedule changes; 50 per cent felt
‘‘good’’ about this; 8.3 per cent felt ‘‘very
bad’’; while 8.3 per cent was somewhat
indifferent by feeling ‘‘not good’’. These
responses are shown in Figure 1.
It is obvious that managers make the effort
to give Saturdays (and in some cases
Sundays) off for religious reasons. This is
dependent on the employee providing a
suggested plan of action as stated earlier. For
example, an individual who observes Friday
sundown till Saturday sundown as holy
hours may suggest working until a
reasonable time on Friday afternoon (one
Figure 1
How do you feel about making schedule
changes to accommodate Sabbath-keepers?
hour before sundown) and returning to work
on Saturday night (immediately following
sunset). Furthermore, if this employee is able
to make a ‘‘deal’’ with an individual who
wishes to observe Sunday as his/her day of
worship, and thus work on Sundays for such
individuals, then it becomes much easier for
the employer to grant the wish.
The respondents were then asked if they
would recommend a career in the hospitality
industry to a Sabbath-keeper. Again, the
responses varied, as shown in Figure 2 with,
33.3 per cent stating that they would
recommend a career; 58.3 per cent undecided;
and 8.3 per cent saying they would not
recommend this career to a Sabbath-keeper.
When asked to give reasons for their
answers, the respondents overwhelmingly
stated that a person’s ability to keep the
Sabbath and work in the hospitality industry
is dependent on their commitment to their
religion and to their job. If the commitment
to their religion was greater than their
commitment to their job, they might be
forced to make difficult choices about their
chosen profession and vice-versa. The
researchers found it interesting that one of
the respondents, who stated that they would
not recommend a career in the hospitality
industry, was actually a Sabbath-keeper. The
reasons given are shown in Table I.
The respondents also expressed the view
that there would be less conflict between an
employee’s religious persuasion and job
commitment if the individual were not
assigned to departments such as food and
beverage and rooms. Paradoxically, this can
limit the employee’s ability to be promoted to
top management since it has been proven
that persons employed in food and beverage
and rooms divisions have better chances for
promotion in the hospitality industry.
Figure 2
Would you recommend a career in the
hospitality industry to a Sabbath-keeper?
Eritha Huntley and Table I
Carol Barnes-Reid Would you recommend a career in the hospitality industry to a Sabbath-keeper?
The feasibility of Sabbath-
keeping in the Caribbean Percentage of
hospitality industry
Responses respondents
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality It depends on the department and entry level of the individual 25.0
Management It depends on the person’s commitment to their religion and their job 33.3
15/3 [2003] 172-175
Being a Sabbath-keeper limits the employee’s scope for performance and advancement 8.3
There is no guarantee that time off will be given on the Sabbath 8.3
The shift system facilitates all employees 16.7
From experience, Sabbath-keeping employees have performed very well 8.3

enhance the employment process for

Conclusion
It is apparent that there are challenges here
for persons who desire both employment in
the hospitality industry and a commitment to
their religion. Communication of
expectations and beliefs is critical to this
process. Sabbath-keepers may also consider
alternative sources of employment such as
becoming entrepreneurs. This would allow
them to provide services that would not
conflict with their beliefs, and at the same
time become a source of employment for
others with similar beliefs.
Society is changing and with it, the views
on ‘‘holy days’’ should change. Flexi-week
might be the answer, where persons are
given the opportunity to work any five or six
days a week instead of the traditional
Monday to Friday/Saturday. It is evident
that the Jamaican government is concerned
about this issue, since they are currently
enacting legislation to provide greater
protection for individuals who may have
diverse religious persuasions. This would
Sabbath-keepers.
More research on the issue of religious
tolerance specifically, within the field of
tourism and hospitality management, is
needed. The findings of these studies could be
used by Sabbath-keepers to determine if this
field is appropriate for them, and also to
identify their career options.
Note
1 For more information see www.bgu.ac.il
References
Byer, A. (2001), ‘‘Religious accommodation
increasingly important issue’’, South Florida
Business Journal, Vol. 21 No. 145, p. 3.
Meinhardt, J. (2002), ‘‘Religion more of an issue
for human resource managers’’, American
City Business Journals, available at:
www.bizjournal.com
Misek, M. (2002), ‘‘In theory and in practice:
especially now, religious tolerance is
important’’, Lodging Magazine, available at:
www.lodgingnews.com

[ 175 ]
Research in brief
Performance of tourism analysis: a Caribbean
perspective
Keywords
Analysis, Foreign exchange,
Growth, Tourism,
Financial performance, Revenue
Abstract
Introduces a new concept,
performance of tourism (POT)
analysis as a tool for measuring
the performance of tourist
destinations. Comments on the
Caribbean region’s
overdependence on tourism, and
examines the scope of foreign
exchange leakage. Tourism in the
Caribbean generally grows faster
than the world average. Often the
success of tourism is measured
from the gross figures rather than
the net figures. Presents data
from four Caribbean countries,
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,
Jamaica and St Lucia to explain
the concept. Key findings reflect
surprising results. Based on the
analysis done, a relatively new
tourism destination in the
Caribbean, Aruba, has
outperformed mature tourist
destination, Jamaica, by 16 to
one.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 176-179
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470239]
[ 176 ]
Chandana Jayawardena
Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Diaram Ramajeesingh
Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Introduction
The Caribbean currently ranks sixth in the
world in terms of tourism receipts and
attracts a little over 3 per cent of tourist
arrivals in the world. For many years now,
the key benefits and performance indicators
in the region have increased faster than all
other regions of the world. Particularly in
terms of tourism investment, visitor arrivals,
tourism receipts and direct and indirect
employment, the Caribbean has
outperformed other regions (Jayawardena,
2002). These indicators also suggest that the
Caribbean, in general terms, is
overdependent on the tourism sector.
Success of tourism cannot be judged from
gross figures. A more meaningful
measurement will be to look at the net
tourism receipts and, then, analyze the per
capita net tourism receipts. Most
governments, national tourism organizations
and trade associations in the Caribbean tend
to focus on tourist arrival figures and total
tourist receipts to communicate success of
tourism to the general public. This is similar
to judging the success of a large corporation
purely from the revenue figures, while
ignoring gross profits, net profits and return
on investment.
This paper attempts to assess the impact of
tourism on four countries in the Caribbean,
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Jamaica, and
St Lucia, by developing a performance
schedule that include both gross and net
measurements.
Dependence on tourism
Tourism has emerged as the engine of growth
in many island states within the Caribbean
region. The promotion of tourism as a growth
sector resides in its perceived potential: to
accelerate growth in gross domestic product
(GDP); to create employment; to increase
foreign exchange earnings; and to attract
capital investment.
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
In 2002, Caribbean tourism was expected to
contribute some 17 per cent to regional GDP,
14.1 per cent in overall employment, 18.5 per
cent in total foreign exchange earnings and
21.3 per cent in regional capital investment
(World Travel and Tourism Council, 2002).
In 2002, the role of tourism continued to be
significantly high for the four island states,
which are the focus of this study. On an
average, the key contributions from tourism
in these four countries were recorded as:
GDP – 15 per cent; employment – 32 per cent;
foreign exchange earnings – 47 per cent; and
capital investment – 53 per cent.
These indicators bear testimony to the
proposition that these island states have,
over the years, come to rely on tourism as the
major growth sector. This reliance, however,
seems to be more intense among the smaller
states where the projected impact of the
industry in all four key areas of the economy
is quite evident (Table I). The largest
contributions, however, are expected in the
areas of foreign exchange earnings,
employment and capital investment.
According to UNEP (2002) the emergence of
such excessive dependence in the smaller
economies correlates directly with their size
and limited human resource potential.
Together, both of these factors served to
inhibit the development of viable industries
outside of tourism. The larger island states,
however, do not have these constraints. Yet,
tourism has assumed greater prominence in
national development as it has become the
fastest and single largest sector in these
economies. The industry was catapulted into
this role because traditional sectors, such as
agriculture and mining, continued to
stagnate over the last few decades. Tourism
was seen, therefore, as an effective and
efficient engine of growth. Most Caribbean
island states are overdependent on tourism
for economic growth. Wilkinson (1987)
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
Chandana Jayawardena and Table I
Diaram Ramajeesingh Contribution from tourism in 2002: estimated economic indicator percentages
Performance of tourism
analysis: a Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda
perspective
International Journal of Gross domestic product 21.0
Contemporary Hospitality Employment 34.6
Management Foreign exchange earnings 61.2
15/3 [2003] 176-179
Capital investment 74.3
Source: WTTC (2002)
argued that tourism specialization is not an
effective development strategy for small
island states because the opportunity cost to
the economy is very high. However, Grassel
(2002) argued to the contrary. Using pooled
cross-sectional data for some 29 Caribbean
countries, the researcher found very
significant correlation between growth in
tourism and economic growth. In particular,
it was established that small economies,
which specialized in tourism, experienced
exceptional growth when compared with
their larger counterparts. As articulated by
Wint (2002) the ratio of tourist arrivals to a
country’s population is a critical factor and
one that has some influence over the
industry’s contribution to the economy. One
could also argue that a higher ratio of tourist
nights to host population would have a
negative impact on the environmental
sustainability.
Foreign exchange leakage
Caribbean island states have been
characterized as open, dependent economies
in which most of the important economic
activities are geared towards the production
and export of a few commodities (Witter and
Ramjee Singh, 1986). The export orientation
focus of these economies had served to limit
both the scope of economic diversification
and the development of strong, inter-sectoral
linkages, between tourism and the rest of the
economy. It was predominantly for this
reason that the industry, in many of these
countries, has become highly import
dependent.
Although tourism has been the fastest
growing sector in the Caribbean, the high
import content of the industry meant that a
significant portion of foreign exchange
earnings from tourism is accrued abroad.
Belisle (1984), for instance, pointed to the
high import content of food, which in some
countries was as high 62 per cent, as one of
the main sources of foreign exchange
leakage. Food imports, however, is not the
only avenue of foreign exchange leakage
from these economies.
A UNEP study in 2002 lists five major areas
of expenditure that are responsible for the
Aruba Jamaica St Lucia Rounded average
13.8 7.7 16.8 15
38.0 19.1 35.4 32
31.0 36.8 60.5 47
62.7 31.1 43.3 53
high import content of the tourism sector.
These include: imports for construction;
imports of consumer goods; repatriation of
profits; overseas promotional expenditures;
and amortization of external debt incurred
by the industry.
Undoubtedly, the level of leakage will vary
from country to country. The extent of the
outflow is determined by the inability/ability
of the domestic economy to meet the diverse
needs of the industry. It is suggested by
UNEP (2002), that foreign exchange outflows
from the industry are expected to be higher
among the smaller island states because of
major resource constraints.
In contrast, it is argued that the larger
island states do not face these resource
constraints and should develop stronger
inter-sectoral linkages with tourism. As a
consequence, they are likely to benefit more
from better inter-sectoral effects relative to
the smaller islands. The net effect is that a
greater portion of the industry’s foreign
exchange earnings should be retained in the
local economy.
The leakage rates for the four countries
under study, however, do not seem to support
this kind of characterization in foreign
exchange outflows between large and small
island states. Foreign exchange outflows in
these four countries are around the following
percentages: Antigua and Barbuda – 25 per
cent; Jamaica – 40 per cent; Aruba – 41 per
cent; and St Lucia – 56 per cent (UN, 1996).
For most developed economies, the average
outflow of foreign exchange from tourism is
estimated to vary between 10 to 20 per cent
(UNEP, 2002). A quick comparison with the
data given above would clearly indicate that
the outflow of tourism receipts from this
small subset of states within the region is
quite high. Even the 25 per cent leakage rate
attained by Antigua and Barbuda, which is
the lowest among the four islands, falls
outside the range specified for developed
economies. For the other states, if the upper
limit of 20 per cent were to be used as a guide,
the leakage rate would be two to three times
higher.
[ 177 ]
Chandana Jayawardena and
Diaram Ramajeesingh
Performance of tourism
analysis: a Caribbean
perspective
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 176-179
Table II
Performance of tourism (POT) analysis
Tourist arrivals
Average tourist nights
Total tourist nights
Expenditure per tourist stay (US$)
Expenditure per tourist night (US$)
Gross tourist receipts (US$)
Foreign exchange leakage (%)
Net tourism receipts (US$)
Population
Per capita net tourist receipts (US$)
Best performances
Overall ranking
Note: Based on 1998 data
[ 178 ]
tourist nights among the island states, as
Net tourism receipts well. As could be expected, in some instances,
variations between countries were sizable,
Quite often, the success of tourism is judged
on the basis of tourist arrivals, average guest while in other cases they were not. Jamaica
nights spent or gross tourist expenditures. As emerged as the leader with an average of 10.9
argued by Jayawardena (2002) the success of tourist nights.
tourism is better assessed using net tourism
Given the large number of tourist arrivals
receipts and its attendant per capita and the highest average tourist nights, it was
measurement. Net tourism receipts represent
not unexpected for Jamaica to emerge as the
that portion of the industry earnings which
best performer in the total tourist nights
is retained within the domestic economy
after all foreign exchange leakages are taken category, as well. Given the size of the tourism
into account. The per capita measure, on the industry in Jamaica, the huge differences in
other hand, translates the net earnings on a the amount of total tourist nights between
per person level. The magnitude of the per Jamaica and the rest of the islands were not
capita estimate is determined by the size of unexpected either. The data revealed that the
the population. For this reason it is not total in tourist nights for Jamaica was nearly
unusual for small states with small three times that of Aruba, more than six times
populations to have large net per capita that of St Lucia and nearly eight times that of
earnings while larger states with sizeable Antigua and Barbuda.
populations have low per capita earnings. In the areas of gross and net foreign
The methodology used to derive both of exchange earnings, Jamaica continued to
these estimates is set out in Table II. The outperform the other island states. The
calculations are fairly straightforward and performance of Jamaica’s gross earnings
need no explanation. However, it should be from tourism was over five times that of
noted that data on ‘‘expenditure per tourist
Antigua and Barbuda, four times that of
night’’ is not published for Caribbean
St Lucia and twice that of Aruba. The
countries, and therefore, had to be estimated.
performance in net receipts was almost a
repeat of Jamaica’s gross receipt
Performance analysis performance. For this reason it would be
In analysing the performance schedules of
unnecessary to replicate the analysis. Suffice
the four countries, the most striking feature
of the data to emerge put Jamaica as the best to say that the net receipt figures were
performer in five out of nine areas buoyed by the relatively low leakage rate
considered in the performance of tourism from the industry. In spite of its dominance
(POT) analysis. in several areas, Jamaica’s overall tourism
Tourist arrivals among the states varied performance fell short in the areas of
quite significantly. Of the four, however, expenditure per tourist and expenditure per
Jamaica was by far the single largest tourist night. Generally, the smaller islands
destination with arrivals of 1.2 million in did better in these areas.
1998. In contrast, total arrivals for the three The final and the most important item in
smaller states were roughly 1.1 million. the performance schedule placed Aruba at the
Therefore, Jamaica had more arrivals than top of the list. With a per capita net receipt of
the other islands combined. As in the case of US$4,649, Aruba’s performance could be
tourist arrivals, there were variations in characterized as exceptional when compared
Antigua and
Barbuda Aruba Jamaica St Lucia Best performer Worst performer
234,300 647,400 1,225,300 252,200 Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda
7.3 7.6 10.9 8.7 Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda
1,710,390 4,920,240 13,355,770 2,194,140 Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda
1,020 873 1,000 1,159 St Lucia Aruba
140 110 92 133 Antigua and Barbuda Jamaica
239,454,600 541,226,400 1,228,730,840 291,820,620 Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda
25 41 40 56 Antigua and Barbuda St Lucia
179,590,950 319,323,576 737,238,504 128,401,073 Jamaica St Lucia
65,366 68,683 2,624,419 152,530 – –
2,747 4,649 281 842 Aruba Jamaica
2 1 5 1 – –
Second First Fourth Third – –
Chandana Jayawardena and with the other states, specially compared with
Diaram Ramajeesingh Jamaica’s shockingly low US$281. Without
Performance of tourism
analysis: a Caribbean any doubt the smaller states had performed
perspective reasonably well at the per capita level.
International Journal of Jamaica, the largest of the four islands as well
Contemporary Hospitality as the most mature and well-established
Management
15/3 [2003] 176-179 tourist destination among the four islands had
the lowest per capita net receipts. In this
analysis, the three small countries
outperformed Jamaica in the following ratios:
St Lucia by three to one; Antigua and Barbuda
by ten to one; and Aruba by 16 to one.
Conclusions
The statistical analysis outlined, earlier,
make it possible to draw some tentative
conclusions about the role and importance of
tourism to island states within the Caribbean
region. There is no doubt that there are
differences in tourism performance among
the island states. One of the sharp differences
lies in the arrival and gross revenue figures of
these countries. On the surface, these figures
would seem to suggest that the smaller states
benefited less from tourism activities than
their larger counterpart. Apparently, the size
of the industry and the volume of tourist
arrivals are not the determining factors of
tourism contribution to any given economy.
Jamaica, which recorded the lowest per
capita net receipts, attracted less than one
tourist per citizen. In fact each of the three
smaller states hosted more tourists per capita
compared with Jamaica and also commanded
higher revenue per tourist night. These
results, therefore, do suggest that there is a
strong link between per capita net receipts
and tourist per capita.
There is no doubt the smaller states have
come to rely on tourism as the main engine of
economic growth. This position is supported
by the data given in Table I which show that
the industry in the three smaller islands, on
the average, is projected to generate one in
every three jobs, around half of their foreign
exchange inflows and between 43 per cent
and 74 per cent of capital investment. This
overt reliance raises the all-important
question as to whether specialization/
dependence on a single industry is
compatible with economic growth.
Finally, although it is not possible to state
with any degree of certainty, it would seem
that population size has some influence on the
industry per capita contribution to the
national economy. This is noted against the
background that the three smaller states had
populations ranging between 65,000 to 152,000
persons. The issue as to whether population
size and tourism contribution to the national
economy is correlated needs further
examination before any definitive conclusion
can be drawn. Admittedly, a sample of four
states is small and does not provide a strong
basis for drawing a firm conclusion. For this
reason there is need to engage in further study.
The difficulty confronting such research
efforts, however, is the paucity of information
on foreign exchange outflows for these island
states.
It is recommended that the policy makers
of various tourist destinations in the
Caribbean and elsewhere, consider using
POT analysis to measure the effectiveness of
tourism performance in a meaningful
fashion. In this context it is recommended
that tourists take the following steps:
. Develop systems to record and analyze
foreign exchange leakages from tourism.
. Take appropriate action to minimize
foreign exchange leakage.
. Use ‘‘POT’’ analysis to measure per capita
net tourist receipts, as the key tool for
measuring success of tourism.
. Focus on increasing receipts per tourist
night.
. Focus on increasing average length of
stay.
. Promote the destination to increase
tourist arrivals, in keeping with generally
accepted guidelines in sustainable
tourism development.
References
Belisle, F.J. (1984), ‘‘Tourism and food imports:
the case of Jamaica’’, Economic Development
and Cultural Change, Vol. 32 No. 4.
CTO (2002), Caribbean Tourism Statistical Report
2002-2001 Edition, Caribbean Tourism
Organization, Barbados.
Grassel, W. (2002), ‘‘Small countries and
specialization: services as growth engines’’,
Paper presented at a Forum, The University
of the West Indies, Jamaica.
Jayawardena, C. (2002), ‘‘Future challenges for
tourism in the Caribbean’’, Social and
Economic Studies, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 1-23.
UN (1996), Caribbean Voice, United Nations,
Geneva.
UNEP (2002), Tourism, United Nations
Environment Programme, Paris.
Wilkinson, P.F. (1987), ‘‘Tourism in small island
nations: a fragile dependency’’, Leisure
Studies, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 127-46.
Wint, A. (2002), ‘‘Competitive disadvantages and
advantages of small nations: an analysis of
inter-nation economic performance’’, Journal
of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Vol. 27 No. 3,
pp. 1-25.
Witter, M. and Ramjee Singh, D. (1986), ‘‘An
analysis of the internal structure of the
Jamaican economy: 1969-1974’’, Social and
Economic Studies, Vol. 35 No. 1.
WTTC (2002), The Impact of Travel and Tourism
on Jobs and the Economy, TSA Research
[ 179 ]
Research in brief
The state and tourism: a Caribbean perspective
Keywords
Tourism, Developing countries,
Economic conditions,
Regional development,
Government, Economic growth
Abstract
Tourism, today, has not only
emerged as the engine of growth
but also become the largest and
the fastest growing sector in the
Caribbean. For this reason the
industry is now viewed as one of
the leading instruments of
development in the region. Given
the importance of the industry, it
is incumbent on governments to
orient tourism growth towards
meeting the socioeconomic needs
and environmental requirements of
the region. To meet these
objectives, however, regional
governments are required to play a
greater role in directing and
shaping the future development of
the industry. This paper strongly
argues in favour of a greater role in
the industry, both through direct
and indirect market intervention,
by governments of the region.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 180-183
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470248]
[ 180 ]
Hilton McDavid
Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona,
Kingston, Jamaica
Diaram Ramajeesingh
Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona,
Kingston, Jamaica
Introduction
Caribbean states have long been
characterized as open, dependent economies
with their export focus limited to few
primary products in areas of agriculture and
mining. These industries, which were the
mainstay of regional economies for many
decades, have failed to provide the economic
stimuli needed to engender growth and
development.
For some time now, tourism has replaced
these stagnating industries as the engine of
growth and has become one of the fastest
growing sectors in many of the island state
economies. The industry’s key indicators
have outperformed, on a worldwide
comparison, those in other regions of the
world.
Jayawardena (2002) argued that this
success was not due to any consorted effort in
planning nor strategic posturing by regional
governments. The industry, it is argued,
simply drifted into prominence because of
the failure of the traditional sectors to
perform adequately.
It is argued, here, that the sustainability of
the industry requires regional governments
to be more proactive in planning its growth
and development. The enabling role of the
state is critical in this process because the
industry provides both positive and negative
externalities which conflict with each other.
Arguably, the state, through good
governance, intelligent regulatory policies
and planning can minimize or even mitigate
some of these inherent conflicts.
This paper begins with an examination of
the economic importance of tourism to
Caribbean economies. The discussion
continues by looking at the potential roles of
government in tourism development. The
final section provides a summary of the
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
salient points with a view to identifying the
future direction of the industry.
The economic importance of
tourism to Caribbean economies
Tourism has, for many years, been a major
foreign exchange earner in the region. In
1996, the industry gross foreign exchange
receipts totalled some US$15,149.2 millions.
Between 1996 and 2000, the industry gross
earnings grew by approximately 32 per cent
or reaching US$19,881.1 millions in 2000
(Caribbean Tourism Organization, 2000). The
size of the inflows would suggest that the
industry is very important to the region and,
in particular, to those economies that are
characterized as tourism dependent states.
The tourist industry, however, is not only a
source of new income. It also promotes the
development of a wide range of enterprises
that are allied to the industry. In this sense, it
becomes a stimulus for indirect job creation,
a support for poor regions within countries
and a replacement for declining or lost
industries. These allied industries, usually,
represent an important source of indirect job
creation.
The impact of tourism activities, however,
is not limited to job creation and foreign
exchange inflows only. It also generates spin-
offs in various areas within the economy.
Projections by the World Travel and Tourism
Council showed that the regional industry is
expected, by the end of 2002, to stimulate
some US$34.3 billion in economic activities,
contribute approximately US$7 billion to
GDP, account for US$17.3 billion of total
exports and provide US$7 billion in total
capital investment (WTTC, 2002).
The size and diversity of the industry’s
contribution to regional economies suggest
that the industry has now assumed greater
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
Hilton McDavid and importance and could be regarded as a
Diaram Ramajeesingh leading instrument of development in the
The state and tourism:
a Caribbean perspective region. This is particularly so, in light of the
imminent dismantling of the region’s
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality preferential trading arrangements in sugar
Management and bananas, and the deterioration in the
15/3 [2003] 180-183
terms of trade for bauxite and other primary
products produced by the region.
The role of government
The case for direct market intervention
While it is true that tourism can contribute
positively to the socioeconomic and cultural
identity of the region, it can also cause the
degradation of the environment and a loss of
local identity. The negative attributes of
tourism can be mitigated by means of good
governance and intelligent regulatory
policies for the various sectors that impact
on tourism.
In the Caribbean, the role of government in
the industry would be defined by
developmental issues, such as
macroeconomic stability, good governance,
international competitiveness and their
strategic objectives. These notwithstanding,
there are several important reasons why
governments in the region have to intervene
in the market.
First, tourism products in the Caribbean,
broadly speaking, are public goods. So, it is
either technically infeasible or very costly to
exclude any one group from consuming these
goods. It is in the best interest of society for
both locals and tourists to enjoy the
consumption of these public goods. To
achieve this objective, it is more feasible for
government to intervene in the market and
provide spending closer to the social
optimum to deal with environmental,
cultural and social pollution of the industry.
Second, because of the negative
externalities of the industry, government has
to intervene in order to achieve some degree
of distributive equity. This involves
educating and training people so that they
can participate in the industry. This kind of
intervention serves to reduce conflicts
between equity and efficiency goals.
And, third, the nature of tourism to some
degree determines the pattern of growth. The
free play of the market does lead to severe
pressure being placed on capacity limits and,
hence, a lack of sustainability in volume and
quality of services being offered. Thus, more
attention has to be given to market
imperfections and to specific interventions
that are needed to correct market distortions.
Wahab and Pigram (1997) pointed to the
example of Hurghada, on the Red Sea, in
Egypt, where the overdevelopment of the
tourist supply resulted in a price war that
drove down prices of tourist services to a
minimum. This would suggest that state
involvement in the regulation and control of
the industry may be a prerequisite to achieve
a derived and not market driven growth rate.
State ownership and entrepreneurship
In many countries, governments have
intervened in the marketplace through the
ownership and operations of tourist
ventures. In Jamaica, the acquisition of hotel
properties came through government’s
intervention in the financial sector, which
was on the verge of imploding in the
mid-1990s. In other countries, however, state
ownership of hotel properties was
necessitated by the desire to save jobs and to
prevent the unemployment rates from
climbing to levels that were politically
untenable.
The entrepreneurial role of government in
tourism, however, has been changing. Since
the early 1990s the industry has been
operating in an economic environment in
which state ownership declined
dramatically. In spite of this, there are
several areas which may continue to remain
in the domain of the state. These include
natural parks, heritage sites and beaches.
Economic well-being and market failure
Tourism, to some extent like infrastructure,
has important network effects. If properly
exploited, it can have a major impact on the
economic well-being of the region.
Traditionally, the tourism industry, in each
country, has been and continues to operate as
separate entities. No effort had been made to
use the regional industry as a stimulus to
develop intraregional economic linkages.
The tremendous potential which exists for
the creation of economic linkages in areas of
agriculture and agribusiness, remain
untapped. As a consequence, both at the
country and regional levels, the industry has
continued to exhibit excessive reliance on
extra regional imports to meet its basic
needs. This myopic approach to the
development of the industry can have
disastrous consequences for economic
growth within the region.
The scope of ‘‘all-inclusive offerings’’ has
also significantly reduced the network effects
of tourism within the region. In particular,
there has been a significant reduction in the
demand for services offered by allied
industries. This has both an economic and
social cost, which the economy has to absorb.
Somehow, government needs to intervene in
the market in order to reduce some of the
[ 181 ]
Hilton McDavid and negative effects of ‘‘all-inclusive offerings’’ on
Diaram Ramajeesingh the wider economy.
The state and tourism: As pointed out by Jeffries (2001)
a Caribbean perspective
unrestricted operation of the market can
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality conflict with the broader objectives of the
Management state. Bodlender (2001), further, observed
15/3 [2003] 180-183 that:
. . . in areas where a tourist industry is
developing, the unfettered operation of the
market may lead to results contrary to what
are desired.
The suggestion is to have a more controlled
expansion. This should yield better economic
results as the market would respond quite
differently.
Non-market intervention
In general, the role of the government in
tourism is motivated by the sector’s potential
to contribute significantly to the
enhancement of human and economic
development. The non-interventionist role of
the government, which can assist in
achieving these objectives, should be limited
to legislation and regulation, planning and
coordination and stimulation.
Legislation and regulation
Most of the direct legislation affecting the
tourism sector relates to the establishment of
National Tourism Organisations and their
roles in the industry. However, the sector
could be significantly affected by the general
laws of the land.
Hall (2000) pointed out that government has
a number of legislative and regulative
powers which, directly and indirectly,
impinge on tourism. However, substantial
issues of tourism often emerged because of
the extent to which tourism policy needs to
be integrated with other policy areas.
Referring to regulation specifically, he
concluded that while the sector recognizes
that government has a significant role to
play, particularly when it comes to the
provision of infrastructure, the predominant
argument is that the sector must be
increasingly deregulated.
However, this contradicts the fact that
government is increasingly being asked to
regulate in order to protect the environment
and to establish and maintain quality and
safety standards. McKercher (1993) pointed
out that, as a predominantly private sector
driven industry, development decisions by
tourism enterprises are profit-oriented,
resulting in preference for investments only
in profit centers. He concluded that
mitigation protection programmes will
receive lower priorities, unless there is a
legislative imperative to force such
investments.
[ 182 ]
Planning and coordination
Various government ministries have
significant relationships with tourism on
matters such as immigration, labour,
transportation, building and construction
permits, etc. which can greatly impact on the
growth of tourism. Jeffries (2001) concluded
that because of the great complexity of the
industry and of its products, it requires
coordination and cooperation, which
arguably only governments have the capacity
to organize. As Hall (2000) noted,
coordination is necessary both within and
between government tourism bodies and the
private sector in order to develop effective
tourism strategies.
Public planning for tourism occurs in a
number of forms, mainly because of the
multi-sectional nature of the industry, which
carries a wide group of associated sections,
ranging from infrastructure to the related
trade. Perhaps there is an argument for
government to play a greater role in the
planning of tourism as this generally tends to
be an amalgamation of economic, social,
political, cultural, and environmental
considerations, which reflect the diversity of
factors that influence tourism development.
Stimulation
Tourism contribution to GDP means that any
induced effects by government, in this sector,
would produce a significant impact on the
entire economy. According to Mill and
Morrison (1985), governments can stimulate
tourism in three ways:
1 provide financial incentives;
2 sponsor research; and
3 engage in marketing and promotion.
Financial incentives can take many forms
and can include low interest loans, duty
exemption and/or the granting of tax-free
holidays to the industry. In situations where
there is scarcity of domestic investment
funds, government can provide tax
exemptions on profits and guarantee the
repatriation of funds.
To enhance human development it would
be more appropriate if governments were to
target small hotels, great houses and small
communities with a view to providing
financial and other forms of support.
The limited degree of excludability and the
high externalities make government an ideal
agent to sponsor tourism research. In the
Caribbean, there is the need for research to
move away from beach tourists to other
groups that yield benefit to a wider
cross-section of society and provide a greater
depth to the tourism product, so that it
Hilton McDavid and becomes less vulnerable to external
Diaram Ramajeesingh economic and political events.
The state and tourism: Government’s promotion and marketing
a Caribbean perspective
should be based on research and be directed
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality at those areas that can be most beneficial.
Management Obviously, the size of the advertising
15/3 [2003] 180-183 elasticity would determine how government
would redirect its promotional and
marketing dollars.
Summary and observations
Because of the importance of tourism to the
region, it is incumbent on governments to
orient tourism growth towards meeting the
socio-economic objectives and
environmental needs of the region.
According to Wahab and Pigram (1997), it
must coincide with the destination’s value
system, cultural integrity, and satisfy the
needs of the local population.
There is, however, an innate contradiction
with the optimization of tourist visits, and
the mitigation of undesirable externalities.
Solution to this problem should be state and
not private sector driven. Such intervention
can be justified by the economic and social
needs of the region.
In the Caribbean, governments have been
providing subsidies to counteract external
and internal shocks. They, also, have been
providing guarantees and assuming risks.
The scope of public actions continues to be
massive, even though they are articulated
and coordinated in different and new ways.
In spite of this, it can be argued that the
regional industry will be controlled and
shaped, to some extent, by the multi-lateral
and bi-lateral funding agencies and other
supranational organisations, as the region is
still dependent on international aid and
structural adjustment programmes. Policies
pursued by governments in the region will
continue to be circumscribed by the
influences of external organisations. Such
influences are expected to determine the
nature and direction of the regional industry.
References
Bodlender, J.A. (2001), in Jeffries, D. (Ed.),
Governments and Tourism,
Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Caribbean Tourism Organization (2000),
Caribbean Tourism Statistics, Bridgetown,
Barbados.
Hall, M.C. (2000), Tourism Planning: Policies,
Processes and Relationships, Pearson
Education Limited, Harlow.
Jayawardena, C. (2002), ‘‘Cuba: crown princess of
Caribbean tourism?’’, Paper presented at the
27th Annual Conference of the Caribbean
Studies Association, Nassau, The Bahamas.
Jeffries, D. (2001), Governments and Tourism,
Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
McKercher, B. (1993), ‘‘The unrecognized threat of
tourism: can tourism survive sustainability’’,
Tourism Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 131-6.
Mill, R. and Morrison, A. (1985), The Tourism
System, Tourism Planning, Policies, Processes
and Relationships, Prentice-Hall
International, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Wahab, S. and Pigram, J.J. (Eds) (1997), Tourism
Development and Growth: The Challenge of
Sustainability, Routledge, London.
World Travel and Tourism Council (2002), The
Impact of Travel and Tourism on Jobs and the
Economy, WTTC, London.
[ 183 ]
Viewpoint
Tourism, linkages, and economic development in
Jamaica
Keywords
Development, Strategic planning,
Jamaica, Tourism,
Industrial performance,
Economic indicators
Abstract
This article offers, briefly, a
production-oriented development
framework for Jamaica, based on
growth-promoting linkages
between tourism, commodity
production sectors, and
complementary and related
service industries. These linkages
can boost the Jamaican
endogenous competency and
industrial competitiveness, while
improving the country’s
macroeconomic performance.
Alternative development policy
considerations are also within the
scope of this article.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 184-187
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470257]
[ 184 ]
Nikolaos Karagiannis
Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies,
University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica
Introduction
The direction in which the Jamaican
economy is pointed, at present, seems to be
somewhat random, depending on the current
state and vagaries of the global market rather
than based on long-term development
planning. The impact of the 11 September
2001 terrorist attack on the travel industry
shows the danger of heavy reliance on an
industry that is changing and is also
subject to volatile factors, particularly the
transport industry and developments in the
oil market.
Attention will have to be drawn to the part
played by tourism in the Jamaican economy,
as the lack of an overall integrated policy has
limited the contribution of tourism growth to
the country’s socio-economic development.
In formulating policies for economic
restructuring and diversification, it is
imperative, therefore, to recognise the
critical elements of the system in terms of
deriving a long-term strategy, and to show
the relative position of endogenous strategic
components. Failure to do so can easily lead
not only to short-run, highly partial
considerations, and short-term measures,
dictated by pressing problems (e.g. national
debt, stagflation) but also to the adoption of
an ad hoc approach to development which
may be in conflict with the goal of a stronger
economic fabric.
This article considers the potential for
development-promoting linkages between
tourism, commodity production sectors,
and complementary and related services
in Jamaica, while charting a
developmental state framework for the
country’s industrial rejuvenation and
competitiveness.
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
Charting the Jamaican
developmental state framework
Prospects for future growth in Jamaica have
been frustrated and lowered significantly,
due to foreign exploitation and under
utilisation of existing resources, as well as
the severe economic difficulties the country
has repeatedly faced. As the Jamaican
economy operates at below its level of
physical and human capacity, policies to
increase aggregate demand can yield
substantial economic gains.
Thus, a first requirement of a thorough
development strategy is that aggregate
demand must be sufficient enough to
stimulate production up to the adequate rate
of capacity utilisation. However, growth of
local production must go hand in hand with
special consideration of the country’s
external trade (even though the
competitiveness of the Jamaican economy
must come to the fore). In addition, the
expansion of tourism must represent a net
addition to the effective use of resources.
In order to expand industrial production
and employment, firms must have the
financial means to invest in the necessary
machinery, capital equipment, critical kinds
of science and technology initiatives. Skills
training and upgrading, and short-run
bottlenecks (e.g. a lack of the necessary
resources and skills, difficulties in obtaining
finance, and a lack of business confidence),
preventing a fuller utilisation of capacities,
have to be taken care of. Likewise, the
renewal of tourism in Jamaica requires
investment in tourism plant, facilities and
supporting infrastructure.
Hence, a second requirement of the
proposed development strategy is that
selective economic policies should provide
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Nikolaos Karagiannis the resources and stimuli to carry out the
Tourism, linkages, and investment in both working and fixed capital,
economic development in infrastructure, and the modern factors of
Jamaica
development necessary to raise output and to
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality improve the production and commercial
Management conditions of firms. Active fiscal policy ought
15/3 [2003] 184-187 to carry out the investments necessary to
improve the supply conditions of businesses
and to support the other expenditures
associated with the selective policy.
Monetary policy ought to ensure that
sufficient financial resources are channelled
to firms and to intermediary agencies at
reasonable interest rates. Besides, it should
be considered that the increase in output
would translate into higher profits and
savings (Lopez, 1998).
However, bottlenecks at the firm or macro
level often hamper a more efficient capacity
utilisation. These bottlenecks must be
seriously considered, would require
addressing a number of issues
simultaneously, and accordingly a medium
and long-term development strategy should
have as a basic requirement a close link with
a deliberate industrial strategy. Such a
directed state action should:
1 consolidate and improve existing
production;
2 select and give priority to investment in
new and technically promising activities;
and
3 adjust quickly in anticipation of, and in
response to, global changes in demand and
technological innovation (Karagiannis,
2002).
Indeed, industrial targeting should single out
areas of emphasis in selected fields (such as
food processing, beverages, and organic
farming), and be directed towards
strengthening the national industrial core
and upgrading competitiveness. It should be
concentrated on a few focal areas having
favourable prospects for development, and be
selectively designed so as to support a small
group of key dynamic firms managed by
modern entrepreneurs. Even a small group of
key propulsive industries can be
instrumental in emphasising the
‘‘accelerators’’ of growth and endogenous
competency, exert pressure to adapt on other
supply firms, and introduce modern concepts
of policy-making and labour relations. The
various spheres of policy should be directed
towards consolidating these focal areas,
correcting the imbalances which continually
emerge in the wake of restructuring and/or
repositioning, reconciling contradictory
elements therein, and smoothing the path for
industrial growth.
What has been asserted should not be
taken to imply a rejection of the problems
that could arise with the proposed
development strategy. But to face them, a
sound economic approach ought to
complement short-run measures with a
thorough plan for the future, which includes
a long-term industrial or structural change
strategy aimed at diversifying local
production, strengthening technological
capabilities, and promoting innovation.
Greater levels of production, employment,
and profits that would be achieved in the
short term owing to the fuller use of available
resources, would actually spur a transition to
a more structurally efficient economy. Part of
this increased production and income in
Jamaica would go to higher spending on the
accelerators of endogenous competency and
lead to faster development of skills of the
labour force. Higher profits would allow not
only additional investment spending but also
a greater proportion of income growth to be
channelled towards investment. Hence, in
the future, it would be relatively easier to
incorporate more modern technology and
increase productivity, while at the same time
raising accumulation rates (Lopez, 1998).
In addition, as it is very difficult – perhaps
impossible – to repay the debt and to finance
economic development at the same time in
Jamaica, the approach to the management of
the national debt should be designed in the
context of the long-term strategy for overall
development. Yet, to find the appropriate role
for foreign investment in the development
process is a necessary complement to the
strategy for managing the national debt.
For purposes of designing endogenous
competency strategies to achieve the
development of productive forces, and the
transformation and diversification of the
structure of Jamaican production,
technically-proficient strategic planning is
absolutely necessary, and should be directed
towards the creation of new conditions and
processes to be effectively and directly
determined by the planning authorities.
Strategic planning is a pragmatic attempt to
increase the country’s long-run capacity to
transform itself by building up the
infrastructure and the requisite skills. In the
development of these strategies, a
developmental state not only generates the
capacity to spread the use of modern
knowledge and industrial techniques into all
elements of the economic transformation so
as to spur local industrial activities, but also
creates a dynamic basis for engagement in
the world economy through higher levels of
exports. Only under such a national strategic
planning system and well-conceived and
[ 185 ]
Nikolaos Karagiannis vigorously executed development
Tourism, linkages, and programmes will trade serve a different
economic development in function, because the Jamaican economy
Jamaica
itself will be reoriented to serve different
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality purposes (Karagiannis, 2002).
Management Arguably, domestic production should be
15/3 [2003] 184-187 oriented towards satisfying domestic demand
in the first instance with export
specialisation occurring as an extension of
this. Besides, stopover visitors expand the
domestic market. The aim should be to bring
about a general improvement in the
competency and efficiency of the Jamaican
economy, in the level of technological
infrastructure it relies on, and in the quality
of workmanship and service, so that more
and more activities may become increasingly
competitive.
Modern production techniques, precisely
because of their flexibility, make it possible
to manufacture in small series on a viable
basis. Targeting and flexibility are possible,
especially if they can draw on modern
industrial planning. Assuming
predominance of clear focal areas and
initiatives carried out by both a competent
administrative machine and dynamic local
businesses, demand for imported capital and
goods could decline and exports of local
products expand. Given the recovery of
production of local industries and the
improvement of national competitiveness, a
large part of the additional goods produced
will be devoted to exports. Consequently, the
country would make a greater and better use
of its productive resources and capacity,
while at the same time easing the constraints
on its balance of payments.
In addition, as indigenous technology is the
basis for an organic integration of domestic
production and demand structures,
investment priorities and the choice of
technique are determined by the strategies of
transformation and diversification, and by
the product choices to which these strategies
give rise. The overall purpose is to increase
the capacity of the Jamaican economy to
respond at the level of the government, firms,
and the population as a whole (Karagiannis,
2002).
In order to assure realisation of these
national development goals, an economically
active state must play a significant role (it is
argued here that, even under the current
conditions of globalisation and the pressures
from international organisations such as
WTO and IMF, governments still have room
for developmental state policies). However,
thorough development strategies assume a
much better state action, and would require
an efficient and competent administrative
machine. The government provides the
[ 186 ]
‘‘national purpose’’ framework, and
well-educated, well-trained and efficient
technocrats supply planning and overview.
This ‘‘national purpose’’ proves possible to
bring together social and political forces in
the interests of a socially-defined agenda
(Karagiannis, 2002).
Moreover, this growth-oriented
transformation must lead in a corporatist
direction and strategic partnership between
a developmental state, forward-looking
businesses, and various social segments. A
broad-based consensus is also required and
could afford scope for national strategic
planning. Furthermore, if such thorough
alternative strategies are to solve such
problems, they presuppose participation.
Indeed, participation is a vital element
ensuring that sufficient motivation,
creativity, and human effort is forthcoming
to guarantee that such technically proficient
strategies can be successfully carried out in
Jamaica.
Lastly, the adjustment of its social and
political conditions to the country’s urgent
social and developmental needs cannot be
avoided. Therefore, it would be necessary to
adopt a number of measures to remodel the
key social, economic, and institutional
factors that will be required to provide the
necessary underpinning in Jamaica. But so
does any thorough strategy capable of
overcoming barriers and laying down the
basis of growth and endogenous competency
in any developing country.
Devising the necessary action to stimulate
tourism growth and industrial regeneration,
while raising the quantity and quality of
productive investment necessary to allow the
fullest and most efficient utilisation of
existing resources, seems to be a more
sensible way to confront the future. Such an
approach seems, certainly, a better option for
the endogenous development and
competency of the Jamaican economy, than a
frantic search for accelerated ‘‘western-style’’
modernisation and free-market antidote – a
‘‘vision’’ that decision and policy-makers in
Jamaica aspire to (Lopez, 1998). The
alternative and more realistic development
paradigm would require the pursuit of
developmental state policies and strategies.
This is what the Jamaican economy needs.
Conclusion
The current conditions in the world economy
may increase the potential advantages of
pursuing ‘‘governed-market’’ policies. In the
Jamaican case, such an approach will utilise
and maximise productive resources available
Nikolaos Karagiannis for the development of tourism; promote
Tourism, linkages, and
cross-sectoral links, and create economies of
economic development in
Jamaica scale across a range of industries and firms;
International Journal of aggregate demand for services and the
Contemporary Hospitality accelerators of development; and, finally,
Management identify inefficiencies and gaps to develop
15/3 [2003] 184-187
and use new products and processes
adequately – enabling both state and private
policy-making to be better targeted. However,
while the implementation of the necessary
measures is far from straightforward,
there is much that can be done. The
Jamaican economy could have a better
future, should these issues be tackled soon
and successfully.
References
Karagiannis, N. (2002), Developmental Policy and
the State: The European Union, the East Asia
and the Caribbean, Rowman & Littlefield,
Lanham, MD.
Karagiannis, N. and Salvaris, C.D. (2003),
‘‘Economic development and tourism growth
in Jamaica: the challenges of the strategic
approach’’, in Jayawardena, C. (Ed.),
Caribbean Tourism: Visions, Missions and
Challenges, Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston,
Jamaica.
Lopez, J. (1998), ‘‘Growth resumption and long-run
growth in Latin American economies: a
modest proposal’’, International Papers in
Political Economy, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 1-22.
[ 187 ]
Viewpoint
Policy coherence and sustainable tourism in the
Caribbean
Keywords
Sustainable development,
Tourism, Policy management,
Growth, Economic conditions,
Environmental risk assessment
Abstract
The common failure to give due
weight to environmental and
social factors creates a risk that
that short-term economic growth
objectives may be traded off
against long-term objectives, such
as environmental quality. This
potential policy conflict may be
exacerbated in the developing
countries that are undergoing
structural adjustment, as the
associated trimming of non-core
public expenditure will typically
include measures designed to
manage the environment. Thus the
long-term future of the vital tourist
industry might be compromised in
the process of meeting short-term
public expenditure reduction
targets. The solution lies partly in
improved policy coherence; micro-
level prescriptions are more likely
to be sustainable per se and also
help to underpin a wider process of
sustainable development if the
appropriate policy framework is
analysed and evolved integrally, as
part of a coherent national plan.
The need, therefore, is for an
appropriate, flexible structure that
could capture the business,
environmental and developmental
aspects of tourism.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 188-191
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470266]
[ 188 ]
Anthony Clayton
Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies,
The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
Economic growth and
environmental quality
There is now widespread concern about
sustainable development, and there are many
examples of positive action. Most of these,
however, are at the micro or community
level, and hence relatively limited in scope;
there has been relatively little significant
change at the key macro and sectoral levels.
Even in the current rounds of
macroeconomic reform and structural
adjustment (both nationally and
internationally), the primary focus is on the
pursuit of economic growth.
This is not necessarily wrong; most
environmental problems become both a
higher priority and more tractable as
countries become wealthier. As a general
rule, however, the majority of governments
and corporations still treat social and
environmental costs and benefits as
externalities. Non-economic benefits are
rarely factored into basic economic analysis,
and non-economic costs (in terms of, for
example, unemployment and environmental
damage) still tend to show up post facto as
areas that need additional compensatory
investment to alleviate any damage done. In
principle, of course, given better planning
and management, and the use of advanced
management concepts such as cleaner
production, it should be possible to shift the
point of trade-off between economic and
environmental objectives (Clayton and
Radcliffe, 1996; Clayton et al., 1999; Clayton,
2002a).
Policy conflicts
Many have argued that the macro level of
economic and development policy must
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
incorporate social and environmental
factors at the outset of planning if it is to
achieve integrated and sustainable
development, but this idea has still not been
extensively taken up in the preparation of
national or corporate strategies for
development and growth. There is growing
evidence, for example, from analyses carried
out by organizations such as the United
Nations Development Programme, the World
Bank, the World Wide Fund for Nature and
the European Union that national policy at
sectoral level (for agriculture, transport
infrastructure, tourism and so on) not only
usually fails to incorporate social and
environmental factors, but frequently fails to
take account of other current
macroeconomic policies or even to relate to
other economic sectors which may be
directly important to the success of the
sectoral activity in question. This is, of
course, a problem in developed nations as
well as developing nations, and there are
numerous examples of policy conflicts
(where one government policy contradicts
another, or the work of one Ministry
undermines the work of another), but the
consequences tend to be more severe in
developing nations which have little margin
to absorb the costs of serious policy
mistakes.
The threatened demise of the sugar and
banana industries in the Caribbean region
offers a number of examples of such policy
conflicts; these industries might have been
modernised and thereby saved, but
modernisation would have entailed
significant reductions in the workforce.
Proposals to modernise therefore met
political resistance. The effect,
unfortunately, was to render these industries
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Anthony Clayton uncompetitive, as their production costs are
Policy coherence and now two or three times those of modern,
sustainable tourism in the
Caribbean efficient producers elsewhere. The situation
International Journal of has been maintained, to date, by European
Contemporary Hospitality subsidy, but the transition to open world
Management trading conditions will end commercial
15/3 [2003] 188-191
sugar and banana production in a number of
countries in the region, thus creating even
more serious unemployment than would
otherwise have been the case. The net effect
of government policy, therefore, has been to
postpone the pain of restructuring, but in
this way contribute directly to the demise of
these industries (Clayton, 2001).
Budgetary constraints and
long-term risks
The urgently needed but difficult
macroeconomic reforms and structural
adjustment programmes currently being
carried out in many countries, provide
additional contemporary examples of policy
conflicts. These programmes usually
require governments to get their budgets
back under control. In a situation where
external shocks, mismanagement,
corruption or some combination of these
factors has led to significant, unproductive
over-spending, without commensurate
benefits or growth, the measures required to
rebalance budgets will usually be harsh, and
be accompanied by pegging or reductions (in
real terms) in those areas of public
expenditure defined as non-core. This will
typically include measures designed to
manage the environment and natural
resources.
However, these reductions in public
funding and managerial capacity can occur
at a time when resource-dependent sectors
– such as tourism – are actually expanding,
driven by the sustained long-term growth in
the global pattern of demand for travel and
tourism services. There is, therefore, a
significantly increased risk of
environmental damage as a result of the
pursuit of short-term and purely economic
growth objectives, however necessary these
might be. The failure to give due weight to
environmental and social factors also
creates a risk that short-term objectives are
being, perhaps unknowingly, traded off
against long-term objectives, and that the
long-term future of the vital tourist industry
– for example – might be compromised in
the process of meeting short-term public
expenditure reduction targets.
Social and institutional factors
Part of the problem relates to the established
pattern of institutional arrangements and
decision-making procedures. Economic
reform programmes are, in general, designed
by a relatively small group of policy makers,
who tend not to accord significant weight to
the impact of economic reforms on social
sectors and the environment. The prevailing
assumption of such policy makers tends to be
that improved aggregate economic indicators
(e.g. rising GDP) will automatically translate
into poverty alleviation, social equity and
improved environmental stewardship.
Experience of growing social and economic
polarisation, distorted and unbalanced
growth and extensive, costly and
unnecessary environmental degradation has,
in some cases, indicated that the prevailing
assumption is too simplistic, and that it is
necessary to look much more carefully at the
management of the process of reform and
transition. Experience in a number of
nations now suggests, for example, that it is
possible for particular sections of the
community to remain socially excluded and
isolated, trapped by a lack of marketable
skills and knowledge of the modern
workplace, even when the country as a whole
is experiencing positive economic growth.
The implications for tourism
Tourism as an economic sector is extremely
pervasive in that it both affects and is
affected by many other sectors, ranging from
construction and engineering to a wide range
of services, and thereby involves or has
implications for the livelihood of many
people at almost all levels of society. Thus the
tourism sector is particularly vulnerable to
the policy deficiencies noted above. Success
or failure, whether economic, social or
environmental, depends not only on effective
and efficient action at the micro level (hotel,
resort, community) but also on action at the
macro (national) and sectoral levels (Clayton,
2000; 2001; 2002b). At the macro level,
regulation or perverse incentives can have a
strong impact on the success or failure of
tourism at the micro level. Fiscal policy, on
issues such as reduced state ownership,
subsidies, reform of the tax structure, credit
and reorientation of public investment, have
a major impact on the conditions within
which tourism operates. Other
macroeconomic policy areas, such as
[ 189 ]
Anthony Clayton monetary policy (particularly with regard to
Policy coherence and interest rates), exchange rate policy,
sustainable tourism in the
Caribbean labour/wage policy and trade policy, are
similarly relevant. In countries such as
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Jamaica, the most important constraint to
Management
15/3 [2003] 188-191 the future development of the tourism
industry is now the level of violent crime;
tourists are far less likely to be affected than
residents, but the perception of risk has
become a significant deterrent. Thus the
development of the industry now depends
more on the Government’s policies on social
inclusion, crime and justice than it does on
the Government’s policies for tourism per se.
There is frequently a lack of inter-sectoral
connection at the sectoral level as well. The
provision of the necessary infrastructure, for
example, is critically important for the
long-term viability of the tourism industry. If
national policies do not facilitate the
necessary credit and investment for the right
type and spread of infrastructure, therefore,
any initiatives to promote tourism will be
negatively affected; resulting in either
environmental damage, or declining visitor
levels, or both. Even good sectoral policy
often fails to deliver the intended results, as
sectoral polices are rarely derived from or
supported by a broader, national
macroeconomic framework (Haley and
Clayton, 2003).
The failure to take an inclusive approach
to policy and practice in tourism creates the
situation we see today, in which there is a
strong tendency to pursue short-term gains
in economic growth with inadequate regard
for the long-term economic, social and
resource sustainability of the activity.
Indeed, without an integrated approach,
there is a serious risk (already evident in
certain locations) that the natural resource
capital on which tourism depends will
provide for a short period of high profit, but
will then be followed by the degradation or
exhaustion of those same natural resources.
This is why current systems of national
accounts generally fail to capture the full
input and impact of tourism in any given
economy and can, therefore, lead to incorrect
or erroneous decisions on, for example,
policy and investment in that sector. One
possible solution is to establish satellite
accounts, in which other variables (such as
social and environmental factors) can be
tracked, but there is as yet no agreed
common framework for choosing variables
and assessing the import of particular social
and environmental changes (Clayton and
Radcliffe, 1996).
[ 190 ]
The solution: factoring in
interdependence
The fundamental issue, however, is that the
three levels (macro, sectoral and micro) are
highly interdependent. Micro-level
prescriptions are therefore more likely to be
sustainable per se and also help to underpin a
wider process of sustainable development if
the appropriate policy framework is analysed
and evolved integrally as part of a coherent
national plan. The need, therefore, is for an
appropriate, flexible structure (broadly
similar perhaps to the National
Environmental Policy Plan of The
Netherlands) which could capture the
business, environmental and developmental
aspects of tourism (Clayton et al., 1999).
This would allow the social and
environmental costs of economic
development within the tourism sector to be
internalised (or at least recognised), which
would then make it possible to identify the
sort of practical policies and reforms that
would facilitate the achievement of the
social, economic/business and
environmental objectives of sustainable
development. The cross-sectoral, multi-level
focus of this type of policy framework would
require broad-based participation by the
business sector, the government, civil society
and others concerned with or impacted by
tourism, and the policies and reforms that
result have to be implemented if the active
involvement of this broader constituency is
to be maintained. It is important, therefore,
to build in a development and dissemination
process that significantly strengthens the
local capacity for addressing the needs of the
tourism industry and developing its role in a
wider process of sustainable development.
This will then maximise the existing positive
initiatives coming from the industry itself,
such as those promoted by the World Travel
and Tourism Council.
References
Clayton, A. (2000), ‘‘Sustainable tourism: the
agenda for the Caribbean’’, Worldwide
Hospitality and Tourism Trends Journal,
Vol. 1, pp. 60-78.
Clayton, A. (2001), ‘‘Developing a bioindustry
cluster in Jamaica: a step towards building a
skill-based economy’’, Social and Economic
Studies, Vol. 50 No. 2.
Clayton, A. (2002a), ‘‘Cleaner technologies: the
implications for developing nations’’, in
Pantin, D. (Ed.), The Economics of Natural
Resources, the Environment and Sustainable
Development.
Clayton, A. (2002b), ‘‘Strategies for sustainable
tourism development: the role of the concept
Anthony Clayton of carrying capacity’’, Social and Economic
Policy coherence and Studies, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 61-98.
sustainable tourism in the Clayton, A. and Radcliffe, N.J. (1996),
Caribbean Sustainability: A Systems Approach,
International Journal of Earthscan, London.
Contemporary Hospitality
Clayton, A., Spinardi, G. and Williams, R. (1999),
Management
15/3 [2003] 188-191 Strategies for Cleaner Technology: A New
Agenda for Government and Industry,
Earthscan, London.
Haley, M. and Clayton, A. (2003), ‘‘The role of
NGOs in environmental policy failures in a
developing country: the mismanagement of
Jamaica’s coral reefs’’, Environmental Values,
Vol. 12 No. 1, February, pp. 29-54.
Further reading
Clayton, A. (2003), ‘‘Sustainable tourism:
the agenda for tourism professionals in
the Caribbean’’, in Jayawardena, C.
(Ed.), Tourism and Hospitality
Education and Training in the
Caribbean, The University of the West
Indies Press, Jamaica.
[ 191 ]
Viewpoint
Terrorism and tourism: Bahamas and Jamaica fight
back
Keywords
Tourism, Competitive advantage,
Terrorism, Economic growth,
Bahamas, Jamaica
Abstract
This study highlights the fragility
of the tourism industry in
developing countries. The
overdependence of the Bahamas
on the tourism industry, for
economic development, is brought
into focus here. The adroit efforts
of the directors of tourism for both
the Bahamas and Jamaica are
highlighted. Both governments
saw the need to immediately fund
a revised marketing and
advertising campaign, in the
aftermath of 9/11. An important
factor in the recovery of both
destinations is the extent to which
a coalition of public and private
sector tourism stakeholders in
both countries committed
themselves to resolving the crisis
quickly at hand. The commitment
of the public and private sector in
these countries, to safeguarding
and promoting this industry
probably positively correlated to
the importance of the industry to
the economy of the countries, as
evidenced by tourism’s
contribution to their GDP.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 192-194
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470275]
[ 192 ]
Godfrey Pratt
Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Introduction
The terrorist attack in the USA on
11 September sent a shock wave throughout
the tourism industry in the Caribbean. The
complete cessation of flights between the
USA and the Bahamas occurred for the first
time in history, in the days following this
event. Hotels in the Bahamas emptied as soon
as their US-bound guests arranged their
return transportation home. Conventions,
business meetings and pleasure travel were
cancelled en masse, as paranoia about the
security of air travel set in.
At the same time, total air arrivals to
Jamaica fell by 41 per cent. In subsequent
weeks this decline narrowed to a recorded 23
per cent, and was estimated even later to be
about 16 per cent. Tourism accounted for
over 70 per cent of the Bahamas GDP, and
about 65 per cent of direct and indirect
employment, according to the Bahamas
Chamber of Commerce. About 80 per cent of
tourists visiting the Bahamas came from its
major market, the USA. Although the
Bahamas was a popular cruise destination
the lions’ share of revenue generation came
from visitors who flew down and stayed in
hotels. This industry, however, contributed
under 8 per cent to Jamaica’s GDP and
produced an estimated 160,000 direct and
indirect jobs for Jamaicans. Although
Jamaica’s dependence on tourism was not as
crucial as that of its neighbor to the north,
the situation was still very grim. With 72 per
cent of Jamaica’s air arrivals coming from
the USA, both countries were obliged to
direct their attention toward the reluctance
of their major travel market to fly, following
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The task of the Bahamas Director General
of Tourism, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace was
clear cut. He needed to direct aggressively
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
the efforts of the Bahamas tourism industry
leaders to avert a potential economic disaster
and immediately recapture the tourist traffic
lost from the US market, in the wake of the
9/11 terrorist incidents. Vanderpool-Wallace
requested and easily obtained emergency
funding to redesign immediately the
Bahamas public relations, advertising and
marketing campaigns in the USA.
Fay Pickersgill, the former Director of
Tourism for Jamaica had a similar but
somewhat less urgent charge. Both directors
had the full support of their tourism, and
other government ministers, industry
officials, and partners. Both tourism
directors led the charge head on. Pickersgill
was provided with an additional US$13
million of emergency funding to redesign
quickly Jamaica’s image in its overseas
markets while simultaneously gathering
information aimed at enabling Jamaica to
recover from the travel fallout following 9/11.
Background
Prior to 9/11, both the Bahamas and Jamaica
had embarked on aggressive sales and
marketing strategies, designed to capture
significant portions of the tourism market for
the Caribbean area. Because of historical
ties, proximity, and accessibility, the USA
was the major tourism market for both
countries. The bulk of the US visitors to both
countries originated from the South Florida,
and the New York/New Jersey markets.
Synopsis
Both the Bahamas and Jamaica had the
advantage of being very close to the USA,
both geographically and in terms of
accessibility. The Bahamas was between
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
Godfrey Pratt 25-45 minutes away from the major south
Terrorism and tourism: Florida markets by air, or two and a half
Bahamas and Jamaica fight hours away from its primary New York/New
back
Jersey markets. Jamaica was just an hour
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality and 40 minutes away from the south Florida
Management market, while being only about three and a
15/3 [2003] 192-194 half hours away from the New York/New
Jersey markets. Major airlines, as well as Air
Jamaica, Bahamasair, and other scheduled
and charter carriers provided adequate
airlift into the Bahamas and Jamaica from
across the USA. Both the Bahamas and
Jamaica shared a common language
(English) with the USA, which made
marketing toward the USA simpler. The
Bahamas had two competitive advantages
over Jamaica in that its currency was
equivalent to that of the USA, which gave
prospective visitors there one less thing to
worry about when visiting that foreign
destination. Another advantage that
suddenly loomed important, post 9/11, was
the existence of US pre-clearance facilities in
major ports of entry in the Bahamas. This
both eliminated the prospect of returning US
residents having to face the long lines and
increased security, primarily of the Miami
and New York airports.
Ideologically, the Bahamas was close to the
USA, empathizing with them whenever they
faced challenging political issues. US visitors
could feel that they were in an exotic foreign
destination in the Bahamas, while, for the
most part, feeling safe and welcome.
Prior to 9/11, local unrest in West
Kingston, Jamaica prompted the Jamaica
Tourist Board to take steps to bolster the
eroding confidence of both consumers and
the travel trade in selecting Jamaica as a
tourism destination. This was done through a
multi-faceted marketing program dubbed,
‘‘operation grow’’, which had a local product
improvement component, and an
international research, advertising, and
public relations component. Some measure of
success was reported, prior to 9/11.
In terms of a quality visitor experience the
Bahamas had spent over three billion dollars
a few years prior to 9/11, to upgrade and
renovate existing tourism facilities and clean
up the public areas. This gave Bahamians
increased pride in their country and
increased the positive visitor comments
collected by the Visitor Relations Unit of the
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.
The proficiency of the stable of tourism
industry experts from the Bahamas
somewhat overshadowed the talent base from
elsewhere in the Caribbean. However, in
terms of tourism industry expertise both the
Bahamas and Jamaica had an impressive
reserve of industry talent capable of
propelling these nations forward in the face
of significant threats to the industry.
Actions of the directors
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace coalesced the
industry partners from the hotels, promotion
boards, the government and non-government
organizations to participate in an emergency
action plan to address the immediate issues.
Ads in major markets, especially in
geographic areas close to ground zero, were
pulled immediately. Emergency funds for a
revised media campaign, were obtained from
the treasury. Sympathetic and empathetic
messages were placed on behalf of the
Bahamas in major media markets, especially
those close to ground zero. New media tools,
e.g. in cable TV markets, that had not been
used before, now received ad placement and
public relations exposure.
Fay Pickersgill also commanded the charge
for Jamaica’s tourism industry. Her actions
mirrored those of Vanderpool-Wallace.
Initially she withdrew all advertising from
the US market, with a phased return to an
advertising campaign using a modified
approach. In addition, as the engineer of
‘‘Operation Grow’’, Pickersgill accelerated
the marketing efforts of this program,
infusing additional funding into this project
to handle the new challenge. The goal of this
program was to maintain a strong presence
in the US market, in terms of sales and public
relations activities. Advertising efforts from
this program would range from a message of
solidarity with the American people to a
sensitive and appropriate invitation to
consumers to ‘‘revive your spirit and renew
your soul’’ in Jamaica. Operation Grow
continued to focus on research and
intelligence gathering activities, to
understand the travel market, as events
unfolded, and to implement strategies
designed to recover the lost ground in
Jamaican tourism.
The employment situation was quite
critical in the Bahamas, with such a large
percentage of the population directly
employed in the industry; massive layoffs
loomed as a result of 9/11, and empty hotel
rooms. Vanderpool-Wallace persuaded the
hoteliers to modify proposed layoffs. The
industry agreed to hold the line, coming up
with creative ways to share work schedules,
and avert massive layoffs, which could have
sent the economy into a tailspin, although the
hotels themselves were losing money. This
approach was not taken in Jamaica, and
therefore significant layoffs occurred there
in the short term.
[ 193 ]
Godfrey Pratt
Terrorism and tourism: The industry one year later
Bahamas and Jamaica fight
back The report for the Bahamas showed almost
International Journal of
total recovery in visitor arrivals from a year
Contemporary Hospitality ago. Positive bookings have been reported for
Management all areas in the Bahamas. Air arrivals in
15/3 [2003] 192-194
some areas show a slight decline, but this is
balanced by an increase in average room
occupancy. In Jamaica, the first half of 2002
shows stopover arrivals were 11 per cent
below those of 2001, indicating that there is
still some work to be done in order for the
country to achieve pre 9/11 visitor arrival
levels. The Jamaican Tourist Bureau plans to
diversify and expand Jamaica’s tourism
client base, particularly in Europe, which
has the potential to make a significant
contribution to the economy. Jamaica is also
directing its marketing focus toward the
Latin American market, which presents a
huge potential for Jamaica. Both the
Special thanks are given to
the Director General of Bahamas and Jamaica are expecting to be in
Tourism for the Bahamas, a marketing position to achieve real growth
Mr Vincent Vanderpool- in 2003, after recovering from the tourism
Wallace, The Bahamas Hotel debacle brought on by the terrorist incident
Association, and the
of 11 September 2001.
Research Department of the
Bahamas Ministry of
Tourism. Special thanks are
also due to Ms Fay Conclusions
Pickersgill, the former
Director of Tourism for the Suppose the response by both tourism
Jamaica Tourist Board, and directors was less than swift, comprehensive
the Corporate Planning and
Research Department of the and collaborative? What could have
Jamaica Tourist Board. happened if they failed to galvanize the
[ 194 ]
support of government ministers, and
substantial amounts of industry support
behind their efforts to combat the effects of
the terrorist actions in the major tourist
market for these countries? With a country
as heavily dependent on tourism as the
Bahamas one could surmise that Wallace had
no choice but to follow the course of action
that he took. If he failed to direct immediately
the efforts of the public and private sector
toward ameliorating the situation, the crush
of subsequent events like an avalanche or a
runaway train would inevitably have
decimated the Bahamas tourism industry as
well as the country’s economy. The Bahamas,
because of several competitive advantages,
coupled with the awareness of key
stakeholders in the industry, seems to have
recovered from the 9/11 debacle better than
Jamaica, to date. However, an important
lesson to be learned by the Bahamas from
this incident is that the overdependence on a
single industry could spell disaster for the
economy of a region or country at any time.
Economic diversification should be seriously
pursued by developing countries, seriously
dependent on one industry. Although the
economy in Jamaica is not as heavily
dependent on tourism as the Bahamas, their
proposed marketing thrust into the Latin
American market is a good effort in at least
diversifying their tourism market.
Viewpoint
International hotel managers and key Caribbean
challenges
Keywords
Hotels, Management styles,
Tourism, Managers,
Ethnic groups, International trade
Abstract
Broadly categorises hotel
managers. Uses lessons learnt by
managing hotels in the Caribbean.
Presents two recent models in the
context of the Caribbean. States
that clear awareness of the ‘‘ABC’’
related to the host community is a
key step in public relations.
Presents the ideal attributes and
prerequisites for success in
international hotel management in
a nutshell. Categorises Caribbean
countries based on the ethnic mix
and historic reasons for negative
attitude towards tourism.
Expresses views on key
challenges that expatriate hotel
managers face in the Caribbean. In
conclusion, makes brief
recommendations to international
hotel managers planning to work
in the Caribbean.
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 195-198
# MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0959-6119]
[DOI 10.1108/09596110310470284
Chandana Jayawardena
Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,
The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
K. Michael Haywood
School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Ontario, Canada
Introduction
The Caribbean has always attracted
foreigners. History records adventurous
encounters of famous visitors such as
Christopher Columbus, Lord Nelson and
Captain Morgan. During the twentieth
century, the Caribbean attracted many
well-known expatriate writers, actors and
musicians of the likes of Ernest Hemingway,
Ian Fleming, Errol Flynn and Harry
Belafonte to name a few. In addition, the
Caribbean has an impressive record of
attracting millions of tourists, thousands of
international hotel managers, hundreds of
major hotel investors and most of the
international hotel corporations during the
last 50 years.
International hotel managers
Hotel managers can be broadly categorized
as:
. local;
. national;
. regional; and
. international (Jayawardena, 2000).
The international hotel managers usually
face the most rewarding as well as the most
challenging tasks. The initial and most
common challenge for an expatriate hotel
manager in a new country is overcoming the
culture shock. Pre-visit Web site searches
and reading books are helpful in
understanding certain aspects of a host
country. However, getting accepted by the
local community usually needs more work
and a lot of public relations. A quick analysis,
a quick understanding and quick acceptance
of: (A) attitudes and aspirations; (B) beliefs
and behavior; and (C) culture and customs of
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
the host community is the key to success for
an international hotel manager.
Jayawardena (2001) developed a model,
which has helped him tremendously to fit in
to the relevant communities of the different
countries he has worked during his
international career in hotel management.
This model is provided in Figure 1.
Researching, understanding and
respecting the ABCs of a region, country or
local community must be done by any
international hotel manager working in a
foreign country. This model was used for
productive interactions in regions such as
Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South
America and the Caribbean. A foreigner may
not fully agree with certain policies, beliefs
and customs in a host country. But, it is of
utmost importance for the foreigner to
respect these and to avoid totally
commenting on sensitive religious and
political issues relevant to the local
population. Fully understanding the ABCs of
the host population quickly provides the
foreigner with a better opportunity to settle
in a new job comfortably.
In addition to getting accepted quickly by
the local community, expatriate hotel
managers face another major challenge of
balancing and satisfying needs of customers,
owning and operating companies and hotel
employees. Without a good working
understanding of key areas, such as technical
or operational, human resource
management, finance and marketing, hotel
managers will find it is difficult to be
successful in the hotel industry.
As shown in Figure 2, all hotel managers
face the needs versus knowledge challenge.
However, it is the international hotel
managers who face the most difficult
challenges. There are no formulae for success
in international hotel management. To be
successful as an expatriate hotel general
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm
[ 195 ]
Chandana Jayawardena and
K. Michael Haywood
International hotel managers
and key Caribbean challenges
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 195-198
Figure 1
ABC X 2 model for international hotel managers
Figure 2
Needs versus knowledge pyramid (NKP model) in hotel management
[ 196 ]
manager one should ideally have many
attributes and prerequisites. In a nutshell,
these include:
. qualifications (minimum a diploma),
skills and knowledge (technical, human
resources, finance and marketing);
. action learned experience (minimum of 15
years in at least three countries),
efficiency, dedication and creativity;
. management ability, leadership qualities
and ambition to succeed;
. adaptability – ability to learn quickly
from ‘‘CSCSO’’ (customers, superiors,
colleagues, subordinates and others) in
different countries; and
. sociability – ability to establish useful
international contacts and mobility (free
to move from one country to another at
short notice) (Jayawardena, 2000).
The Caribbean hotel industry
The Caribbean now has around 275,000 hotel
rooms. In terms of room stock, leading
destinations in the region and the
approximate number of rooms in 2000 were:
. Dominican Republic – 50,000;
. Cuba – 37,000;
. Venezuela – 33,000;
. Cancun – 25,000;
. Jamaica – 23,000;
. The Bahamas – 14,000; and
. Puerto Rico – 12,000.
The above seven (out of 35) countries/
destinations have 70 per cent of the total
room stock in the Caribbean while the
remaining 30 per cent of the rooms are
located in the other 28 Caribbean countries.
This reflects somewhat of an imbalance of
accommodation capacity in the region, as 20
per cent of the countries have more than 70
per cent of the rooms. On the other hand,
however, with the exception of the Bahamas
and Cancun, the other five countries in this
list are the larger countries in the region in
terms of population and size. Except for a few
mainland Caribbean countries and Haiti, the
other Caribbean countries are very small in
size and population. According to the
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO,
2001), in most Caribbean countries, the
relatively small number of larger hotels
account for the bulk of the region’s output.
The Caribbean has various types of hotels.
From the best to worst all-inclusive hotels in
the world, from Atlantis Hotel (with 2,400
rooms and 6,000 employees) in the Paradise
Island of the Bahamas to Le Meridien’s
Timberhead eco-resort (with six rooms and
six employees) in the rainforest of Guyana,
from large conference hotels in Cancun to
small inns of Jamaica; the Caribbean has it
all. Today locals manage an increasing
number of hotels, which is a welcome sign.
However, most of the international hotel
corporations continue to employ expatriate
general managers, food and beverage
managers, executive chefs and specialty
chefs. In some Caribbean countries, which
are relatively new to tourism, it is indeed
advisable to bring in well-seasoned
expatriate hotel managers. Their experience
will continue to help in professionalising the
hospitality services and management in such
Caribbean countries. Most expatriate
hospitality executives working in the
Caribbean are from European countries.
Challenges
There are various types of challenges faced
by international hotel managers operating in
the Caribbean. These challenges can vary
from destination to destination depending on
the historic background of the country and
the current ethnic mix of the population in
the respective Caribbean nation. Based on
Chandana Jayawardena and
K. Michael Haywood
International hotel managers
and key Caribbean challenges
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 195-198
the ethnic mix and the predominant ethnic
group, countries in the Caribbean can be
broadly categorised as:
. predominantly decedents of indigenous
people and mixed (indigenous and
European) Mestizo – such as Belize;
predominantly decedents of colonial
.
masters and mixed (European and
African) Mulattos – such as Cuba;
. predominantly decedents of African
slaves – such as Jamaica; and
. predominantly decedents of indented
laborers from East India – such as
Guyana.
The warmth and charm of most people in the
Caribbean is an important facet of tourism
product in the region. However, it is noted
that employees and local communities of
these different categories tend to react
differently in terms of:
. level of hospitality;
. acceptance of ‘‘white’’ tourists;
. quality of service;
. working for foreign hotel companies
operating in the Caribbean; and
. dealing with expatriate hotel managers.
The negative attitude towards service, owing
to unpleasant memories from the colonial
past, is evident in some developing countries.
In the Caribbean, where the forefathers of
many citizens have been captured and
forcibly shipped from Africa as slaves, the
negative feeling still runs deep. Hospitality
service is at times seen as going back to ‘‘the
plantation era’’ in the Caribbean. As an
example, a former president of Guyana
frequently reminded his people of the
negative ‘‘colonial’’ elements of tourism. The
result of this is the difficulty in attracting
higher quality staff to tourism and
hospitality sector jobs and students to
hospitality management programmes in the
Caribbean. This situation is different in some
of the other developing countries unexposed
to the slave trade. Notably, in most Asian
countries, the hospitality and service seems
far more culturally deep-rooted compared
with the Caribbean. Terms common in the
global hospitality business such as ‘‘bus boy’’,
‘‘bell boy’’, or ‘‘room maid’’ are considered
bad words in most Caribbean countries as
these terms reflected a bad taste in the
context of Caribbean history.
One of the authors, while functioning as
the general manager of the largest business
hotel in Jamaica, faced an unusual problem.
He was told by a union leader that some
members of his staff had refused to wear
certain types of uniforms. These were
designed by a top French designer for
employees of Le Meridien hotels worldwide
to maintain uniformity and general
standards. The reason given by the union
leader and employees for this refusal was
‘‘these uniforms remind us of the colonial
past’’. Instead of considering this as an act of
insubordination, the manager changed the
uniform design (in spite of objections from
the corporate office in Paris) in order to
improve industrial relations. Expatriate
hotel managers operating in the Caribbean
have to be sensitive to such common and
highly sensitive feelings. From time to time,
certain adjustments have to be made to
practices that seem normal in other parts of
the world.
Various other factors influence the
behavioral patterns of host populations and
their attitudes towards tourists and the
hospitality industry. These factors include
the political landscape, diversification of the
economy, percentage of single parent
families, drug trafficking and literacy rate.
Most Caribbean countries record 90-98 per
cent adult literacy rate. A few countries have
it around 80 per cent. The lowest adult
literacy rates in the Caribbean are recorded
in Jamaica at 75 per cent and Haiti at 65 per
cent (Skogstad, 1998).
The industry is at times faced with major
challenges, such as crime and tourist
harassment. This is mainly arising from the
lack of community involvement and the low
level of direct benefits from tourism to local
communities (Jayawardena, 2002). The other
common challenges (in some of the
countries) faced by expatriate hotel
managers in the Caribbean include the
following:
. poor environmental management
systems;
. lack of quality assurance management
systems in individual hotels;
. food poisoning in some countries;
. poor return on investment;
. high foreign exchange leakage;
. very strong unions and ever rising labor
costs;
. low productivity levels;
. over-powered police force and related
corruption;
. inconsistent quality and high prices of
local produce;
. red tape, delays and ‘‘soon come’’ attitude;
. attracting and retaining good employees;
. pilferage and thefts; and
. hurricanes.
Conclusion
Different regions in the world pose different
management challenges. The Caribbean, by
[ 197 ]
Chandana Jayawardena and
K. Michael Haywood
International hotel managers
and key Caribbean challenges
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
15/3 [2003] 195-198
[ 198 ]
any means, is not the best or the worse, but it
is important for any expatriate manager to be
aware of unique challenges in the Caribbean.
Three key recommendations for such
managers are as follows:
1 Do the homework and research well in
advance, before arriving in the Caribbean.
2 Use the ABC62 model in laying a solid
and positive foundation in the host
community.
3 Be armed with the four key areas of
knowledge bases, and be prepared to be
flexible in satisfying the needs of the three
main groups.
Key is to balance this in the most appropriate
way, as there is no formulae. One needs all
ingredients, but should be able to change the
recipe as and when required to suit the hotel,
environment and destination.
References
CTO (2001), Caribbean Tourism Statistical Report
1999-2000, Caribbean Tourism Organisation,
Barbados.
Jayawardena, C. (2000), ‘‘International hotel
manager’’, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 67-9.
Jayawardena, C. (2001), ‘‘Challenges in
international hospitality management
education’’, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 310-15.
Jayawardena, C. (2002), ‘‘Mastering Caribbean
tourism’’, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 88-93.
Skogstad III, S. (Ed.) (1998), Caribbean Basin
Profile, Caribbean Publishing Company Ltd,
Cayman Islands.
 Book reviews
Tourism and Hospitality Education
and Training in the Caribbean
Chandana Jayawardena (Editor)
The University of the West Indies Press,
Kingston, Jamaica
Available in Europe through Eurospan
University Press Group, London
(info@eurospan.co.uk)
374 pp.
ISBN: 976 640 119 5
US$30
It is easy to recognize the internationality of
the hospitality and tourism sectors, but more
difficult to be aware of the richness,
complexity and diversity of the product
offerings and education in the Caribbean
region. This is compounded by the scarcity of
literature on this subject. This book,
however, gives a series of case study
snapshots providing an interesting mosaic of
training needs and tourism which both
informs and illuminates. The editor,
Chandana Jayawardena, has sourced chapter
input from an impressive range of academics,
consultants, tourism consultants and
operators, many of who are former students
of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
This may seem somewhat insular, but it
reflects a realistic blend of the academic and
practical while emphasizing the central role
of the university in influencing tourism and
educational development. These points are
emphasized by the inclusion of a wide range
of preliminary ‘‘messages’’ from senior
figures which outline the context. For
example, Professor the Honourable Rex
Nettleford (Vice-Chancellor of UWI) declares
in the Foreword that the region ‘‘is no longer
the backwater of ‘primitive in innocence’,
but a new Caribbean in all its complexity’’.
The book is divided into three sections, each
of eight chapters. The first section gives a
series of institutional and special project case
studies which give the historical background
and context to tourism and hospitality
education in the Caribbean. These chapters
range from developing training to graduate
and postgraduate courses, especially at UWI.
The final chapter of this section, written by
Kwame Charles addressed the future human
resource development needs of Caribbean
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality tourism. Section two offers country case
Management studies which show the diversity of contexts
15/3 [2003] 199-200 in the West Indies. The countries include
# MCB UP Limited Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic,
[ISSN 0959-6119]
Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago,
Turks and Caicos Islands. Such names
conjure images of exotic locations, but also
show the universality of tourism and
hospitality education problems, notably in
reconciling demand and supply.
The third section considers present and
future challenges, including customer
relations, customizing training, issues in
smaller hotels and academic research. It
culminates in a final chapter by Carolyn
Hayle, which uses a gap analysis approach to
suggest a new way forward for Caribbean
tourism and hospitality human resource
development. The editor has done well to
patch together this complexity and diversity
in such a coherent way from such an eclectic
selection of contributors. This adds up to a
rich and definitive record of tourism and
hospitality issues which both addresses a gap
in the literature and lays the groundwork for
the future in the Caribbean.
Hadyn Ingram
People and Tourism: Issues and
Attitudes in the Jamaican
Hospitality Industry
Hopeton S. Dunn and Leith L. Dunn
Arawak Publications, Kingston, Jamaica
160 pp.
ISBN: 976 8189 03 7
The central message that comes across from
the (rather pleasantly pink) pages of this
book is that tourism is important to Jamaica
and it must be better understood. In fact,
tourism is the Caribbean’s biggest earner,
accounting for one third of total output and a
quarter of all jobs. While the growth forecast
for the Caribbean is healthy, Jamaica has
experienced sluggish growth from 1995 to
2000, perhaps reflecting issues such as rising
levels of crime, drugs and visitor
harassment. The authors use a national
research study to map Jamaican attitudes,
and a case study in Negril, Jamaica to
analyse visitor harassment.
This book is the result of community effort.
For example, the Foreword is written by the
chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and
the Introduction by James Samuels, a
Jamaican hotelier. Similarly, the Dunns
represent both academia and practice:
Hopeton is a consultant and lecturer, while
Leith is a sociologist and development
consultant. There is a rich source of research
data here including community meetings and
[ 199 ]
Book reviews focus groups, more importantly with some
International Journal of reflective and interesting interpretation from
Contemporary Hospitality the main authors. The final interpretation is
Management neatly supplied by Chandana Jayawardena,
15/3 [2003] 199-200
who reinforces the link between residential
communities and tourism. He points out that
some communities receive few direct or
indirect benefits from tourism, and may
harbour a resentment in which tourism is ‘‘a
necessary evil’’.
In summary, there is a rich vein of
research evidence in this book which takes a
fascinating look at the role of attitudes of
both residents and visitors as determinants
of the future of the tourism industry.
Hadyn Ingram
Turismo, Desarollo y Recursos
Naturales en el Caribe (Tourism,
Development and Natural Resources
in the Caribbean)
Alberto Pereira, Ian Boxill and
Joannes Maerk
Plaza Y Valdes, Mexico
265 pp.
ISBN: 970 722 068 6
£6 (approximately)
This book is the result of cooperation
between researchers at the Universities of
the West Indies (Jamaica) and of Quintana
Roo (Mexico). The aim of the project called
‘‘Knowledge construction in Latin America
and the Caribbean’’ is to begin to form a
research base of knowledge from a southern
perspective. This collection forms the second
volume on tourism in the Caribbean and
[ 200 ]
there are 18 chapters, 11 in Spanish and
seven in English. This reviewer can,
unfortunately, only comment on the chapters
written in English!
There is a broad range of topics from the
scientific, such as climate change (Marlene
Attz) and energy (Oliver St Headley and
L. Leo Moseley), but most chapters address
the social aspects of tourism. One of the most
interesting is written by Noel M. Cowell and
Anne P. Crick which explores service and
servility in the contemporary Caribbean.
This is an emotive subject which, for some,
means that tourism is a new form of slavery.
There is a perception that tourism is creating
jobs that are menial and degrading and
which lead to ‘‘a general cheapening of values
and undermining the dignity and self respect
of Jamaican youth’’. Research by the authors
of this chapter suggests that this perception
is expressed by ‘‘the elite in Caribbean
tourism’’ but not shared by the workers
themselves, who are proud of their industry.
As with many of these types of issues, poor
management plays a large part.
It must be annoying for some readers of
this book (like this reviewer) to be unable to
understand some chapters, because only the
Preface is presented in both languages. This
is unusual, but the book does have a
consistency of approach, with useful
conclusions. For those unable to read one or
the other language, this does limit the value
of the book, but perhaps it enables greater
participation and may be a way of reaching a,
hitherto, inaccessible readership.
Hadyn Ingram