In a destination dominated by all-inclusive resorts, a different tourism venture seeks to offer guests a genuine connection to the community. “VillageLife Tourism” and its associated “Okra Inn” demonstrate how tourism can be sustainable and can benefit both tourists and local purveyors. This message has so far gone largely unheard in a market that celebrates sand, sun, and service—in resorts that operate in fenced-off compounds. This case study analyzes VillageLife’s challenges and prospects, the most promising of which is partnering with the all-inclusive properties.
The experiences that inform the case description and analysis are based on two months of ethno-graphic field research conducted by the first author, under the direction of the second author. The research involved participant observation as a guest and later as a staff member at the Okra Inn. This was followed by five weeks as a management intern at the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay. The data record consists of more than 100 pages of field notes, 1,400 digital pictures, 55 in-depth interviews with guests, and 10 interviews with management and employees of the Okra Inn.
2.
and Edward W. Manning and T. David Dougherty, “Sustainable Tourism: Preserving the Golden Goose,”Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly36, no. 2 (April 1995): 29-42.
3.
and D. MacCannell, The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: Schocken, 1976).
4.
J. J. Isssa and C. Jayawardena, “The ‘All-inclusive’ Concept in the Caribbean,”International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management15, no. 3 (April 2003): 167-171.
5.
Travel and Tourism Intelligence, All-inclusive Holidays International 2001—History and Development of Concept (Mintel Market Research Report, 2001).
6.
Peter Pearson and Peter Williams, “The Jamaican Hotel Industry,”PwC Industry Report, 2004, http://www.pwc.com/cb/images/pdf/jamaicahotel2004.pdf.
7.
Ibid., 4.
8.
D. J. Telfer, “Conclusion: Tourism and Development,” in Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues, ed. R. Sharpley and D. J. Telfer (Clevedon, UK: Channel View Publications, 2002), 338-348.
9.
United Nations Environment Program, Economic Impacts of Tourism, 2002, http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/economic.htm.
10.
Travel and Tourism Intelligence, Jamaican Market Characteristics (Mintel Market Research Report, 2005).
11.
Finding an experience like that offered by VillageLife Tourism is difficult; the authors discovered VillageLife only after several months of searching online and in travel guidebooks and references for organizations promoting cultural-tourism initiatives and finally e-mailing several Jamaican scholars familiar with the tourism industry.
12.
Desmond Henry, “True Jamaica,”Islands Travel, November 2004, 30-30.
13.
Ian Boxill, Crime and Sustainable Tourism in Jamaica (UWI, Mona, 1995).
14.
CIA World Factbook—Jamaica, 2005, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/jm.html.
15.
L. D’Amore, “Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace,”Annals of Tourism Research15, no. 2 (1983): 269-270.
16.
in Stephen F. McCool and Alan E. Watson, compilers, Linking Tourism, the Environment and Sustainability. Proceedings of a special session of the annual meeting of the National Recreation and Park Association, October 12-14, 1994; Minneapolis, MN (Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-323).
17.
Ibid., 3.
18.
Travel and Tourism Intelligence, All-inclusive Holidays International.
19.
Chukka Safari Tours is one of the more popular excursions where guests depart in zebra-painted expedition jeeps. Jamaican tour guides wear African-safari uniforms, and the tour is organized to feel like a hunt over back roads, with occasional sightings of wildlife, scenery, and natives.
