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Caribbean Islands Services
Tourism
Tourism was one of the brightest spots of the economy in the
1980s as, depending on bauxite output in a given year, it became
the first or second leading foreign exchange earner. Net earnings
from tourism nearly doubled in the first six years of the decade,
reaching US$437 million in 1986. Tourist arrivals increased 53
percent over the five-year period from 1981 to 1985. Hotel
occupancy rates rose from 41.5 percent in 1981 to the 70-percent
range in 1986 and early 1987.
Jamaica's appeal to tourists came from its scenic beauty, warm
climate, and white sand beaches, as well as the warmth of its
people. The island's proximity to the large North American tourist
market was another advantage. An expensive government advertisement
campaign, beckoning American tourists to "come back to Jamaica," as
well as more cruise ship stopovers spurred tourist development in
the early 1980s. Jamaica ranked second only to the Bahamas as the
preferred vacation location for American tourists in the Caribbean.
Direct employment in tourist hotels increased from 9,527 in 1980 to
13,619 in 1985. Although this employment represented only a small
percentage of the total work force, the industry indirectly created
numerous service jobs in restaurants, transport, entertainment, and
crafts.
Tourism began in Jamaica in the 1890s, when the United Fruit
Company, seeking to use the excess capacity of its ships,
encouraged cruises to Jamaica, and tourist hotels were constructed
on the island. Tourism, however, did not flourish until after World
War II, when accelerated depreciation allowances for investment in
that sector helped to triple the number of hotels from 1945 to
1970. Further hotel incentive legislation in 1968 continued to
transform the industry, eventually strengthening the role of larger
hotels. After a twenty-year period of growth, tourism slumped in
the mid-1970s for a variety of reasons, ranging from radical
domestic policies to negative press coverage abroad. In the 1980s,
the tourist market was recaptured, and it expanded more quickly
than the rest of the economy. American tourists were believed to be
traveling more often to the Caribbean as a result of growing
terrorism in Europe. In addition, Jamaica became particularly
attractive as numerous devaluations of the Jamaican dollar made
United States dollars more valuable. The number of European
tourists was also expected to increase in the 1980s, following the
decline in value of the United States dollar, to which the Jamaican
currency was pegged.
Jamaica recorded 846,716 visitor arrivals in 1985. Stop-over
visitors numbered 571,713 and cruise ship passengers totalled
261,508. Some 13,495 servicemen also visited the island, many of
whom were United States soldiers from the naval base in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. Ninety percent of all tourists in Jamaica originated in
North America, with about 75 percent coming from the United States.
Europeans and Latin Americans made up the remaining 10 percent.
Canadians and Europeans tended to stay longer than Americans, whose
average stay was roughly one week. Although Jamaican citizens
received discounted hotel rates, costs remained too high for most
Jamaicans.
Jamaican tourism was quite diversified, ranging from camping in
the Blue Mountains, to small beach houses in Negril, to large
tourist hotels in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The country's room
capacity exceeded 11,000 rooms, served by over 700 hotels and
various other guest houses. Most large hotels were foreign owned,
whereas the majority of smaller hotels were locally owned. In the
1980s, the government divested numerous hotels that were purchased
by the government in the 1970s.
Since 1956 the tourist industry has been regulated by the
Jamaican Tourist Board (JTB) which greeted tourists, provided
courtesy police, trained workers, set standards, and promoted
Jamaican tourism both at home and abroad. One of the largest
problems that the JTB faced in the 1980s was the continued
harassment of tourists. Most harassment stemmed from frequent
peddling of goods to tourists, at times incessantly; this peddling
most likely reflected the high unemployment rates. Tourists were
also approached to purchase drugs, primarily marijuana,
colloquially called "ganja."
Another issue for the JTB and tourist industry in the 1980s was
whether to allow casino gambling, which would probably attract
tourists. Largely as a result of strong church lobbying, casino
gambling legislation had never been enacted, and it remained
doubtful that it ever would be.
Although most Jamaicans were favorable toward tourism, certain
sectors of society frowned on it for its perceived negative moral
influences. Others doubted its contributions to the economy, given
both the large percentage of imported goods used in the industry
and the prominent role of foreigners.
Data as of November 1987
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