Tourism Development, a key priority for Caribbean countries

Three Caribbean tourism ministers have underscored the significance of expanding community tourism if the industry is to remain competitive in the future. The ministers - Jamaica´s Aloun Assamba, St. Vincent and the Grenadines´ René Baptiste and Brenda Hood of Grenada - spoke at a recent town hall meeting at Brooklyn College in New York.

"We´re trying to put in place a plan to get tourists to come out of the hotels and experience the cultural attributes," said Assamba, who disclosed that while Jamaica enjoys the privileges of all-inclusive packages, tourists were remaining on the hotel properties rather than exploring the island.

She said that through the development of a master plan, tourists would be able to totally experience Jamaican culture by, among other things, participate in numerous local festivals.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines tourism minister said that her country, like some of her Caribbean counterparts, has been thinking "outside the box" and has been expanding community tourism, which involves aspects of heritage and eco-tourism.

She said that plans are well underway for the development of a Madongo Festival, which she likened to the Crop-Over Festival in Barbados.

Madongo is a floury remnant of the arrowroot rhizome, which is turned into a delicious pastry. Only three countries in the world actively cultivate arrowroot: China, Brazil and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Grenada government has been promoting the island in many ways including placing advertisements in international magazines. Ms. Hood said that overall, tourism has been "up and up," pointing to a dramatic increase of 12 per cent for stay-over visitors so far this year.