Devon DickA COUPLE days ago, my family had the privilege of spending some days at the recently refurbished and reopened Beaches Boscobel Hotel and what a grand experience it was. It has five wonderful gourmet restaurants, making one wanting to visit both the Caribbean and Italian restaurants in one night and then having to trek straight to the well-equipped Fitness Centre with two good instructors who made the exercises fun.
Then there is the mini zoo with opportunity to play with the rabbits and watch the mongoose, pig, goat etc. The environment consciousness is enhanced by the labelling of the banana tree with its scientific name. There were so many activities that there was no need to leave the property. There were swimming pools for all ages, a place to learn scuba diving, lawn and table tennis, chess, shuttle board, water trampoline and water slides for the adventurous. No wonder my children consider this the best hotel they have been to. Beaches Boscobel reminds us that Jamaica has excellent hotels with more than adequate activities. Who needs casinos?
Tourism can be improved without casinos. There are two things that can be done and one is to make the activities more indigenous. The entertainment should reflect more local music. A visit to the nightclub and one heard foreign music for about an hour. One would have expected that tourists would be taught reggae dance moves and at night these songs could be played so that the visitors and locals could experiment. It was observed that children were taught to dance like go-go dancers, which seems inappropriate. Instead it would have been better to teach children and adults 'ska', quadrille and other local moves.
The same problem arises with local information. One could not get a copy of any of the local dailies while one could purchase foreign newspapers. How will the visitor know what is happening in the country and the opportunities on the island? In addition, of the 20 television channels only one was local. It would be good to have the three local television stations available at the hotel in addition to community cable network so that visitors would be more educated, entertained and informed about the community and wider country.
Furthermore, the vacation could be more indigenous by teaching persons how to cook Jamaican. Some foreigners would then buy our spices and recipe books instead of them gathering dust in the gift shop. Place a Grace Kitchens corner in a hotel where people who wanted could try to cook their own meal and witness the difference. In addition, there are others who would like to learn about our herbs and I am not talking about ganja.
In addition to engaging in more indigenous activities, there needs to be a more diversified tourist product. Last month, I was part of a Jamaican delegation attending a conference in Newcastle, England, which focused on investing in heritage as a means of regenerating historic cities. It was evident that if Downtown Kingston is to be re-developed then heritage regeneration is the way forward.
However, another lesson learnt at the consultation at the lunch table was the different themes for a tourist product. In conversation with Gordon Dodd, deputy tourist chief for the Northumbria Tourist Board which is responsible for four million persons, he stated that they have ten major themes for the tourist product based on the reasons people visit his area. The number one reason why people visit his area was heritage (17 per cent) and second was spirituality (11 per cent), sailing (7 per cent) etc. Jamaica could get a good share of the European market by emphasising heritage and visits to Port Royal, Spanish Town, Black River, Titchfield Hill and Seville. Many persons want to find themselves, and Jamaica, with the most churches per square mile, and Rastafari-anism, a world-renowned indigenous faith, is ideally placed to attract that segment of the market. There are so many untapped local resources it is unbelievable.
Interestingly, one of the highlights of Gordon Dodd's life was that he was a wicket keeper to Courtney Walsh in a match when Walsh was recovering from injury and he could only bowl off a few paces. The tourist sector should run cricket clinics, which would attract additional visitors. Jamaica Grande Hotel has storyboards about Franklyn Rose, Bob Marley etc. and it is a recognition that our cultural and sporting heroes are integral to our tourism product.
Jamaica cannot compete as a casino destination because the Americans have excellent casinos. It would be better for the tourist industry to try some Jamaican games such as 'three card' and 'crown and anchor'. The success of the Supreme Ventures lottery is due to the fact that it localised lottery by utilising the popular village 'drop pan' concept.
Tourism will improve when the product is made more indigenous and diversified.
The Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church.
