Adopting an integrated approach
Community-based tourism must embrace the concept
of integrated planning as an essential ingredient for success.
One of the major criticisms of tourism development
in Jamaica is that it has been largely unplanned. Planning in this
sense refers to physical planning but the same sentiment can be
applied to Jamaica’s tourism from a strategic point of view.
Community-based tourism on the South Coast of Jamaica offers an
opportunity to correct both planning deficiencies.
By its very nature community-based tourism development calls for
integrated planning. Depending on the size of the initiative the
impacts on social, physical, environmental and economic elements
will vary. If the project entails physical development, efforts
must be made to ensure compliance with all regulations relating
to this subject area. It is especially important to bear in mind
that issues related to land ownership and land use are central to
development at the community level. Professional guidance must be
sought in these matters.
If the project is of an environmental nature regardless of its
size the involvement of the National Environmental and Planning
Agency (NEPA) must be sought. This agency is responsible for both
land use planning and environmental and land use regulations. The
critical issues are watershed management and water quality.
Regardless of its size care must be taken to ensure that there
is compliance with all government regulations but in particular
with those relating to social conditions. Strategies that foster
improvements in social conditions should be encouraged. Develop
Order and Parish Council regulation must be enforced.
In compliance with the national strategies, efforts to create
an economic environment in which individual community members can
benefit while improving the economic conditions of the nation as
a whole should be encouraged. Tourism is not an end in itself. Therefore,
the role of community-based tourism projects is to seek opportunities
for vertical and horizontal linkages within a community with other
industries outside of that community. Through these avenues new
industries can be created. The significance of this approach is
to minimize the amount of money that leaves the area and the country.
This occurrence is called leakage. It is one of the factors that
has negatively affected tourism in developing countries. Fostering
and encouraging local control and ownership of the industry can
bring about the reversal of this trend. This is an area in which
the GATS can and will be applied. Therefore, strict adherence to
international competitive standards is important. This requires
collaboration at the regional, national and local levels.
The main strategy to be pursued is to ensure that the principles
of sustainable development guide the design and development of each
initiative. The vehicle for achieving this objective is interagency
collaboration. As indicated earlier, an interagency agreement should
be signed before any work is undertaken in a specific area. This
agreement should outline the parameters for taking the idea from
concept stage to evaluation of a finished product.
For examples, vertical linkages can be created between the tourism
sector, farmers and the agri-processing industry. Similar links
can be made with entertainment, sports and light manufacturing.
Historically, tourism has a 6-7 year cycle. By creating viable industries
outside of tourism but which also serves tourism the impacts from
economic crises as a result of the inevitable cyclical down turns
can be minimized. Careful planning at the national level is required.
PIOJ document - Guidelines for South Coast
Project -
prepared by Carolyn Hayle
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