An Inquiry Into Jamaican Perspectives on Tourism

Abstract

This article is based on semistructured interviews conducted with Jamaicans from 2010 to 2013. The goal of conducting the interviews as well the objective of this article is to give voice to Jamaican perspectives on tourism. This article gives extensive space for Jamaican views of tourism to be heard through the use of direct quotations. Such "unfiltered" voices have been largely lacking in the anthropology of tourism literature and give a unique window into an understanding of host perspectives of tourism. Social exchange theory is then used to investigate host comments on tourism. The analysis of host perspectives on tourism points to possible directions tourism development on the island might take, as well as giving greater understanding of a sense of Jamaican cultural identity tied to tourism and also globalization. Jamaicans who work in the tourism sector see economic benefit as only one positive aspect of their jobs. The sociocultural benefits of participating in the tourism sector are clear: the joy of interacting with people of other cultures, the joy of learning about other cultures, and the joy of sharing Jamaican culture with tourists. Authentic interaction with tourists is a desire for those working in the tourism industry and is viewed by respondents as a way to participate in global intercultural interaction. Such findings speak to the long tradition of tourism on the island as to the cultural identification of tourism for Jamaicans. Finally, community tourism development is suggested as a direction for Jamaican tourism development in light of host comments on tourism.