Countrystyle Community Tourism Network is a member of the World Tourism Network

This Peace Monument was donated by Washington-based NGO HEAVENLY CULTURE WORLD PEACE AND RESTORATION OF LIGHT as a Grant to Countrystyle Community Tourism Network (CCTN)

CCTN partnered with the Manchester Peace Coalition (MPCo) chaired by Dr. Clifton Reid to implement it.

Other Caribbean nations such as Dominica and Barbados are involved with a worldwide arm.

The Chairman of the Manchester Peace Coalition (MPCo), Dr. Clifton Reid, in approving this project says it will pave the way forward to assist in creating peaceful Communities.

BRAND Jamaica is known for being the home of the fastest man and the fastest woman on planet earth, Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson-Herah, Reggae, Bob Marley and its first National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey.  Jamaica is also the HOME OF COMMUNITY TOURISM, having given it birth some 47 years ago and been so branded in 1994 by Dr. Louis D’Amore, founder, International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT).  The title has since grown to include the Caribbean Region.  Community Tourism has in turn given birth to Villages as Businesses, a world recognized and acclaimed programme created in Jamaica and implemented and exported locally, regionally and internationally with a focus on community economic tourism.

The Tourism Minister’s announcement is in fact an award-winning decision based on the following truth: it is endorsing the passion, philosophy and commitment of Diana McIntyre-Pike, tourism pioneer, which has earned her and Villages as Businesses some 25 awards spanning 40 years.

Among those accolades are the United Nations Decade of Women Award for outstanding contribution to tourism in Jamaica (1982),  the Caribbean Hotel Association Award for outstanding contribution to tourism in the Caribbean Region (1988), the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award for Best Personal Contribution in the World, won jointly with Jane Ashton of TUI Travel UK from among 10,000 nominees (2008); the Order of Distinction (OD) for Tourism and Community Service (2009), the World Tourism Network (WTN) International Tourism Heroes Hall of Fame Award (2020) https://heroes.travel/2020/10/15/diana-mcintyre-pike-jamaica , and the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) Community Tourism Pioneer Award (2021).

We welcome the Minister’s endorsement of Village Tourism because of its potential to be seamlessly integrated with Villages as Businesses and the many initiatives it has spawned, inspired and collaborated with within the emerging global multi-million-dollar tourism industry.   It is important here to note the view of Dr Kadamawe K’nife, Lecturer/Researcher Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica who stated “the Tourism Master Plan (2000) is even more relevant today if Jamaica is to achieve the goals of vision 2030 and the SDGs. Village Tourism supports climate change imperatives and incorporates gender, youth, people with special needs and sustainable development best practices.”

The many Community Tourism partners and consultants therefore await and are willing to contribute to the blueprint which will show how the Minister plans to integrate his community-focused tourism project with Villages as Businesses Tourism and make this venture a win-win for all.

Jamaica has the opportunity to show countries in the region how to develop a strategic, collaborative and coordinated approach to Village/Community Tourism to achieve the vision of a prosperous and equitable future.  The Community Tourism industry partners and consultants seeking Government facilitation of this One-Voice approach include, but is not limited to:

• Theo & Sharon Chambers, founders of the annual Caribbean Health Tourism Spa Conference since 2005;
• Valerie Dixon with cultural heritage projects, the Marcus Garvey Fair and Taino Heritage in Resource Village;
• Beeston Spring Village led by Astil Gage.
• Arlene McKenzie with the Rastafarian Cultural Heritage (Rastafari Indigenous Village);
• Robert Stephens with the Port Royal project;
• Alison Kenning Massa with urban and environmental development profiles and plans for the North Coast, Bath/St. Thomas, Kingston & St. Andrew, Portland, St. Elizabeth and Manchester;
• Manchester Peace Coalition (MPCo) advocating and managing 18 at risk communities;
• UWI Open Campus providing certification for the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network Community Tourism Entrepreneurship training;
• Bluefields Community Best Road Competition led by Keith Wedderburn;
• Reliable Adventures Jamaica founded by Wolde Kristos;
• The National Best Communities Competition led by Jacqueline DaCosta;
• Negril Environment Education Trust (NEET – A tablet in every child’s hand and computer in every classroom) led by Winston Wellington and Jean Brown;
• Treasure Beach Community Tourism projects led by Jason Henzell;
• Edward Wray and indigenous and ceremonial tourism;
• Hugh Dixon and STEA opening Cockpit Country to specialist hiking, caving and cultural tourism;
• The Maroon and Taino communities acknowledging the importance of Jamaica’s authentic indigenous and connected cultural heritage within the Caribbean;
• The many Diaspora organisations, including Making Connections Work UK, who have enthusiastically endorsed Community Economic Tourism; and
• The people who have worked to ensure that we have a tourism industry through their advocacy and stewardship of the environment, including Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), the Negril, Montego Bay and Portland marine parks, Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT), Negril Environment Protection Trust (NEPT) and other environmental NGOs.

We take the Minister’s presentation in Madrid as a commitment to strengthening rural communities’ capacity for self-governance and sustainable development fueled by tourism rather than creating mere attractions and museums.  We also trust that his remarks about redressing the imbalance between the providers and beneficiaries of tourism will put to rest the frequent misconception that Community Tourism is but another means for a few outsiders to exploit Jamaica’s riches.

In fact, tourism is said to be the vehicle that redistributes the global wealth to the poor. It is time to put that postulate to the test.  At the same time, we hope there is also a commitment to cease developing tourism resort areas as tourism enclaves which ignore the need of the adjacent communities and tourism workers for proper housing, basic infrastructure and healthy, vibrant and attractive surroundings.

We are therefore requesting an urgent meeting with Tourism Minister Bartlett and his team to showcase and seek Government’s acknowledgement of our inclusive Community Tourism past achievements, to present the need for support and appropriate remuneration for future endeavours, and to offer essential advice based on the successes achieved, best practices and lessons learned during long practical experience.

Photo:  UNWTO General Assembly in Madrid, Spain. Left- Secretary of Tourism, H.E. Najib Balala from Kenya; (Center) the Saudi Arabia Minister of Tourism H.E. Mr. Ahmed Al Khateeb, and the Minister of Tourism for Jamaica H.E. Edmund Bartlett were all smiles in this photo taken today after the General Assembly vote. (Photo contributed).

Photo : JHTA Award, The Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) Community Tourism Pioneer Award (2021). Clifton Reader (c), president of the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) presents the “Community Tourism Pioneer Award” to Diana McIntyre-Pike, OD (right) and their Annual General meeting, November 24, 2021. Sharing the moment is Camille Needham, JHTA executive director. (Photo contributed).

Contact:

EDITORS: Please note five (5) photos are attached for your perusal. Thank you.

Theo Chambers
Caribnewsroom.com
+1(876) 275-3169

Diana McIntyre-Pike
Countrystyle Community Tourism Network/Villages as Businesses
+1(876) 507-6326

Diana McIntyre-Pike has been serving her Jamaica community and gave her self-less services to the better of tourism to many parts in the world.

Diana McIntyre-Pike has been serving her Jamaica community and gave her self-less services to the better of tourism to many parts in the world.

Outstanding service to the development and training of communities in entrepreneurship and basic hospitality skills and created the VILLAGES AS BUSINESSES PROGRAMME which is being implemented in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Diana McIntyre-Pike OD, BSc Community Tourism Consultant/Trainer with a BSc degree in Tourism Management, Diplomas in Hotel Management, Tourism, Catering Operations, Marketing and a Certificate in Environmental Management where she studied professionally in Jamaica the UK and Germany. She is President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) Caribbean, Coordinator of the IIPT International Community Tourism Network and President/Founder of the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network.

She has built the Villages as Businesses programme to empower member villages, through tour design, training, management and marketing support, to profit from community tourism, Countrystyle Community Tourism Network has partnered with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus to provide support for Community Tourism Centres in Jamaica and the Caribbean region and given accreditation to the Community Tourism Hospitality Entrepreneurship 5 day training through the Countrystyle Academy for Community Tourism (ACT) which was recently implemented in Barbados and now resulted in the creation of the Barbados Community Tourism Network.

She has provided Consultant Services in community tourism to several Caribbean countries and Jamaican communities and organizations (including Island Routes)– the main ones being : Dominica, St. Eustatius, Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, Anguilla, Barbados, Trinidad, St. Vincent and South Africa. This has resulted in several community tourism networks being established and partners for Countrystyle and the Villages as Businesses programme She has assisted the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in presenting over 40 niche markets in community tourism for 10 Caribbean countries which included mainly ecotourism, cultural heritage tourism, health and wellness tourism and agritourism. She has created the marketing arm for community tourism Lifestyle Experiences in Jamaica and the Caribbean region called Countrystyle Caribbean Vacations and Tours (COCAVAT).

Her over 44 years of pioneering services of Community Tourism internationally have garnered widespread recognition, including Virgin Holidays` Award for Best Overall Personal Contribution to Responsible Tourism (2008), Jamaica’s Order of Distinction (OD) (2009), the National Association of Jamaicans and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO) President’s Distinguished Service Award (2011) and IIPT’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2013). Through the Women’s Bureau of Jamaica, she was one of 50 women receiving the 2012

International Women’s Day Award. Islands Magazine selected Countrystyle for one of its 2007 Responsible Tourism Awards and featured the Community Experience packages among the world’s top 20 Responsible Tourism offerings. In August 2016 she was given a Community Tourism Activist Award by the African Diaspora Tourism Network Atlanta and inducted into their Hall of Fame. She was appointed as the Pan African Cultural Heritage Tourism Ambassador for the Caribbean by National Cultural Heritage Tourism Centre’s Rev. Dr. Eugene Franklin Florida USA.

She is a co-founder of the African Community Tourism Network together with the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network/Villages as Businesses and the IIPT International Community Tourism Network.

She recently received a Global Tourism Award from the Wheatle Peart Branding organization Chicago. She is celebrated 40 years of community tourism in 2018 which was branded community tourism by both Desmond Henry and her in 1978 with Treasure Beach and Mandeville paving the way – the IIPT declared 2018 as it the International Year of Community Tourism and Peace in collaboration with Countystyle/Villages as Businesses and branded Jamaica THE HOME OF COMMUNITY TOURISM which is now joined by the Caribbean.

BEST PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION

sponsored by Tourism Ireland

Joint winner: Jane Ashton – Head of Sustainable Development – TUI Travel PLC For successfully advocating the case for sustainable tourism in First Choice since the mid-nineties and for taking responsibility for securing change and providing leadership in First Choice and now TUI Travel, and across the large operator sector as demonstrated through the ground breaking People and the Environment report and the World Care Fund.

Joint winner: Diana McIntyre-Pike – Chair/CEO – Countrystyle Community Tourism Network An innovator and leader for many years in Jamaica, Diana McIntyre-Pike has worked with communities to develop village stays and community experiences, as well as with the larger resorts and operators to market them, developing the Countrystyle Institute for Sustainable Tourism (CIST) to provide training to communities in basic hospitality skills, entrepreneurship and environmental awareness.

FOCUS ON ‘DRYLAND TOURISM’ VACATIONS AND TOURS

The President/Founder of the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network/Villages as Businesses is planning to organize residential vacations and tours called DRYLAND TOURISM effective from the summer season as an ongoing programme.

DRYLAND TOURISM will offer residents of Jamaica exciting opportunities to stay in the diverse accommodation in Jamaica, experience the many attractions which will enable them to be able to market them to their family and friends in Jamaica and overseas.  This will be an ongoing special vacation which will give  international visitors when they eventually return, a community lifestyle experience even in the accommodation they are staying.

There are many communities near the resort hotels that have never seen inside these facilities and educational tours could be offered too to them and vice versa, hotel management and staff should get to know these communities too which will bridge the gap between them.

The CORONVIRUS 19 has motivated persons to get to know more about each other and the DRYLAND TOURISM programme will focus on offering local residents an educational experience to share with others.

MANY PERSONS think of tourism as an industry that markets sun, sea and sand. However, these persons need to admit there are other destinations that offer these same three things in much cleaner environments.

So what is it that makes the whole world “want a piece of us?”

My answer is along the lines that it is the survival creativity of the ordinary Jamaican that keeps Jamaica afloat and it is this creativity in its many forms that the whole world ‘feels’ and want to share and experience. So although other destinations may have nicer and cleaner environments, they do not have the Jamaican vibes, spirit and soul – this, to my mind, is community tourism.

Ceceline McIntyre is the pioneer and can therefore be called the ‘Mother of Community Tourism‘. She has been in the tourist industry from the time that Negril was a natural, unspoilt fishing village that nature lovers and hippies loved and adored. McIntyre treated her guests like family and always shared her Jamaican lifestyle and community with them. She groomed her daughter, internationally renowned community tourism consultant/trainer Diana McIntyre-Pike, in this approach to tourism. It is, therefore, no surprise that McIntyre-Pike instinctively knew that this approach would be one of the ways to brand Jamaica as a unique destination. She partnered with the late former Director of Tourism Desmond Henry, who was also great at marketing, and together they coined the term ‘Community Tourism’ and marketed it through the International Institute for Peace through Tourism. They formed an organisation called the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network, which offers tailor-made vacations and community experience tours through local and international tour operators.

Interaction

There will always be a market for sun, sea and sand; but as technology opens and expose more people to the world, more tourists are going to want to experience and gain more from the places that they visit and will want to interact with real people in their real home environment.

One could, therefore, ask how can community tourism be relevant to a farmer up in the hills of Clarendon. The answer is that there is a growing demand for agro-tourism. The farmer can offer his farm as a farm vacation and tour experience, as many visitors enjoy working on a farm and will pay to learn how to plant our local crops. The farmer can also be included in the health and wellness market by learning the nutritional value of his products and participate as a community agro-tourism guide. The farmer, his workers and his community will need to be trained in basic hospitality skills, environmental awareness and business management skills. Community tourism will, therefore, facilitate and strengthen the capacity of communities, as wherever there are needs and demands, entrepreneurs will emerge.

It must be pointed out that the attractions and features that are appreciated by tourists are generally of significant value to the community. It is, therefore, critical to involve the local population in the planning and development process. Unfortunately, this process is often ignored or sidestepped by unscrupulous persons who have money and can capitalise on the creative solutions and endeavours of a community and never give the creators credit or just rewards for their ideas. Then there are dishonest and disingenuous persons who plagiarise community projects and submit them for funding in pursuit of academic accolades.

To mitigate against these threats and challenges, the proponents of community tourism have launched their initiative known as ‘Villages as Businesses’. This initiative aims to sustain communities through training and development. It is highly commendable that Sandals Foundation has invested in the training of communities and has assisted to upgrade the infrastructure in the communities near Sandals’ resorts. This is an example of a large entity or investment can be involved with community tourism.

Community tourism initiatives embrace all the special interests of people all over the world, such as interests in culture, heritage, ecology, the environment, education, health and other special-interest tourism products. It is, therefore, vital that what is unique to Jamaica is not tampered with, so that our vibes, soul and spirit are destroyed, but that Jamaica maintains and retains its identity and sense of place for its residents, as well as its visitors.