Jamaica
Tourism History of an Island Paradise
by
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A decade of extremes, the Sixties. The contrast between two major groups (Hippies and Bunnies) was tremendous. Counterculture Hippies rejected all established institutions, were critical of middle-class values, championed sexual liberation, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs, rebelled against existing cultural mores and expectations, and embraced holistic medicines (like Jamaicans). Conversely, Playboy Bunnies sought prestige and access to a glamorous lifestyle. They exuded a captivating sensuality and embraced the mystique of all that was dazzling. The stage was set – the urbane, suave gentleman versus the longhaired Hippies and dreadlocked Rastas (amplification of opulent and lavish lifestyles versus rejection of those same lifestyles). Bunny bon vivants. Imagine a Hippie going into a Playboy Club or a Bunny going to Woodstock. Without the Hippies, Negril as we know it would not exist. Negril: The Capital of Casual By the mid-1960s, Jamaica was in the midst of a sea of change that would leave many of those early extravagant, avant-garde pioneers feeling more than a bit beached and disappointed in their adopted country. Luxury, opulence, and exclusivity were giving way to backpacks, drugs, and free love. The Era of the Hippie had arrived and the pendulum had swung from conservativism to the opposite end of the continuum. The counterculture generation’s seeming dismissal of capitalism, extravagance, and glamour was in every way the antithesis of those before them. This group concentrated along the cliffs of Negril, a region of the country that was relatively unexploited. They were free to walk for miles along Seven Mile Beach and would seldom run into another lost soul. What could be better? Known as “The Capital of Casual” for its laid-back, come-as-you-are lifestyle, Negril and its world-famous Seven Mile Beach (in reality, the main beach is just a few rum drinks longer than four miles, while a smaller three-mile section extends into Bloody Bay) have played a central and continuing role as the spiritual and cultural home to the counterculture movement that began a half century ago. At that time, Negril was a simple, isolated fishing village and home to one small hotel (the Sundowner). To get there from Montego Bay was a three-hour trip weaving and bouncing along an unkempt and rutted dirt road (Photo 6.1) [Photo 6.1: Capital of Casual Sign] Hippies, those legions of mostly young Americans fed up with what they considered the sell-out of civilization to capitalistic principles and the stifling moral prudishness of prior generations, gravitated easily to the laid-back lifestyle and effortlessly related to the warmth and kindness of the scant population of the town on the far western point of Jamaica. “Paradise” many called it. It was a place for people to be free. “Your body is suddenly where your mind was,” says Rick of the iconic Rick’s Café, in distilling the essence of Negril into one sentence. They descended in mass on the region, looking for peace, love, and simple Rastafarian huts where they could spend the night for a couple of bucks. To many, Negril is a physical location as well as a state of mind. As a location it boasts of its Sahara-white beaches, mellow climate, and friendly denizens; all of which contributed to its popularity as a tourist destination for the hippies. That allure remains alive and well today. For many, it is still a paradise.
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About the Book
JAMAICA: Teal blue waters, sandy beaches, scintillating cuisine, globally renown rum and Blue Mountain coffee. One hundred fifty years under Spanish rule and then three hundred years under English dominion. Early spectacular hotels, then spectacular all-inclusives resorts. Hippies came to Negril and made it the “Capital of Casual.” Bob Marley spread reggae music worldwide and became a major tourism promoter for the island adding to the glitz from the English celebrities of the 1950s who came to the North Coast. Errol Flynn, Ian Fleming, and Noel Coward attracted jet setters to the island as did fictional super spy James Bond, Agent 007. Tourism growth and development, measured and conservative, free-flowing and exuberant – all existing in a dynamic, remarkable and one-of-a-kind setting. Jamaica, a cacophony of sights and delights. Ya mon, come to Jamaica, an island paradise that has it all.
About the Author
Tony L. Henthorne (Ph.D., Marketing) is Executive Associate Dean and Professor in the Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a recognized researcher and expert in marketing and tourism development in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean Basin, and a frequent consultant and speaker to members of the Caribbean tourism community. Dr. Henthorne first visited Jamaica in 1989, and has returned to the island more than ninety times to conduct research and develop working relationships in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Tony also has a recent book out on the history of tourism in Cuba. Thomas R. Panko (Ph.D., Sociology) is a Caribbean expert. Dr. Panko co-founded the University of Southern Mississippi Caribbean Studies Program in Jamaica and served as the program’s director during its initial seven years. He first visited Jamaica in 1985; the people and the culture of the country have been the allure that has caused his return to the island in excess of twenty-five times. Dr. Panko has taught in England, France, and Jamaica, given professional presentations in India, Russia, Canada, Cuba, as well as the US. Tom is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Southern Mississippi. It was only natural that these two longtime colleagues would team up to write this first book dedicated solely to the history of tourism in Jamaica.