As Ainsley Henriques sees it, culture is one of the main attractions for tourists, so the Caribbean tourism industry should do more to market each country’s unique cultural heritage.
“What I am saying is that the product that we now offer is not the way to growth, to wealth, to self-realization and self-worth for a people; it is not sustainable tourism,” he said, during his presentation at the recent Caribbean Media Exchange in Jamaica.
He lamented the fact that cultural heritage is being identified but remains practically unknown locally and throughout the region. It’s something persons have been urging in the last several years here in The Bahamas, arguing it would give local tourism product much needed diversification.
Those calls have not fallen on deaf ears, with several small junkanoo/cultural-based start-ups coming on stream in the last year looking to tap into that unfilled market. However, these businesses also feel that a helping hand from Tourism could go a long way in boosting not only their companies, but cultural tourism as a whole.
