What is Community Tourism?

Jamaica’s Example:

Community tourism is socially sustainable tourism, which is initiated and almost always operated exclusively by local people. Shared leadership emphasizing community well-being over individual profit balances power within communities, and fosters cultural preservation and pride, conservation, and responsible stewardship of the land.

Communities at Work:

Communities that embrace sustainable tourism as a tool for economic development hold the key to their futures. Every citizen is a potential partner to be trained in small business management, environmental awareness, product development and marketing. In addition to this, local people learn the true value of their communities' most valuable assets - their culture, heritage, cuisine and lifestyle. This, in turn, assists them in preserving their culture while increasing their income and employment opportunities.

Community Tourism in Jamaica:

Community Tourism as a means of development brings tourism into the context where it does not act as an exploiter of resources but as a motivation to sustain the environment as well as cultural authenticity. It changes the scope of tourism so that it's no longer characterized by a subservient host-visitor relationship, but as a tool to build cross-cultural bonds, mutual respect and understanding. Here in Jamaica, Community Tourism shifts the traditional tourism mindset into an avenue where communities across the country become empowered in tapping into the international tourism market, opening up new niches for Jamaica as a destination, most notably travelers interested in nature, culture, eco- and adventure travel. It is sustainable and seeks to build on the natural and cultural 'capital' of a specific area.

Countrystyle Community Tourism Network:

Community tourism has been advocated for over thirty years, through the pioneering efforts of the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network team headed by Diana McIntyre-Pike & family and her partner Barry Bonitto who have paved the way for others and received the support of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, the Sustainable Communities Foundation through Tourism and Desmond Henry, former Jamaica Director of Tourism.

Countrystyle Community Tourism Network is one of Jamaica's best on-island groups of hospitality professionals. They are Jamaica and the wider Caribbean's pioneers in Community Tourism, bringing visitors and citizens closer together. An example of a community tourism vacation is where in one week, a visitor can visit communities to enjoy and learn about their lifestyle, foods, and community-based programs and projects. Schools, churches, youth centers, and hospitals are all examples of income earners from community vacations.

Through the Unique Jamaica Responsible Tourism and Product Network, visitors are encouraged to 'pick a project' and 'adopt a village' while on vacation. A traveler's philanthropy program results in long lasting relationships between visitors and communities and encourages a high rate of repeat business. This interactivity within our global village can improve people's quality of life around the world, and the travel and tourism industry can help to build these linkages and strong communities.

Visit the Mountain Fund’s bookshelf at Powell’s bookstore online, which has an excellent book about Dr. Paul Farmer and Jamaica’s healthcare titled “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder.