EDITORIAL: Jamaica's Art and Culture, Tourism product

It is little wonder, but anyone’s guess as to what would be the result of Jamaica losing its tourists. More specifically care needs to be taken when examining our tourism products. Many Jamaicans, and Jamaica’s Tourist Board, will identify with sand, sea, beaches as the main tourism products, which attract many persons to the island. However, of Jamaica’s art, artists and their creative products should be closer examined as products.
As detailed in one of the following articles, the full potential of ‘culture tourism’ and even ‘art tourism’ should be better explored. Particularly as the artist(e) of any country is a main tool in reflect what the society is like — it’s values, people, lifestyle and culture of natives, character and more.
Jamaica is, beyond measure, very unique. Unfortunately however, only a selected few of Jamaica’s main participants in the country’s tourism possess insight into the real value of our artists(es) and their products, and hence proper vision as to how to effeciently capitalise on this.
On the other hand a great deal of Jamaica’s artists(es) not only lack proper business principles, but do not fully understand the concept of competition, packaging, standards, client needs with due consideration to the tourist who is the potential buyer, and marketing.
Without reinventing the wheel, research and interviews already carried out by the author of this editorial is now being used in reference to substantiate the above claims. The information is also a guide for effecting change, and exploration of Jamaica’s skilled persons.
So far, the high incidence of students requesting such information for projects set by schools and colleges can be a good sign that at least at the learning level more persons are being sensitised to realise the value of Jamaica’s artists, artistes to tourism as a product. Hence, the hidden potential of higher earning as a nation waiting to be revealed.
In 2007, from research on the combined product on “Art And Tourism” in Jamaica, especially along the North Coast from Ocho Rios, Montego Bay to Negril, a series of articles were published in the Caribbean’s leading newspaper, The Jamaica Gleaner. Following is the list of titles and their links.

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Anthea

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