University of the West Indies professor Barry Chevannes has called for a social alliance of rich and poor, white and black, to bring back tourism to Kingston.

The capital has played a key role in making Jamaica a “brand name”, but the capital city, with all its uniqueness and rich heritage, has been subjected to much decline partly, due to social divide and criminal violence.

“Kingston is outstanding, if not unique, in that its contribution to the tourism sector is, by comparison to other capital or major cities, very small, far below its potential,” said Chevannes, one of the speakers on the second day of the three-day Mona Academic Conference on tourism.

Tourism, he said, offers an opportunity to heal the city’s wounds. But the initiative, he said, should be a shift from the traditional sun, sea and sand and instead become an embrace of the city’s cultural resources and involve the youths as prime stakeholders.

“That the city has such a product to offer needs little or no amplification,” he said.

“It could mean the restoration and maintenance of some of the crumbling inner-city houses and public buildings that still retain their charm, the uncovering and restoration of the tram lines and tramcars, the landscaped beautification of the city and maintenance of that beautification.”

But the challenge is to achieve lasting peace, which he said is attainable if the social divide is narrowed. He proposed Violence Prevention Alliance, an initiative of the health ministry, as a possible solution.

“The approach is premised on two assumptions: that both the patriotic elements in the white and brown upper-class as well as the black bourgeoisie see the violence as a threat to the viability of the state and therefore to their own self-interest; and that led by the youths, the communities want peace, he said.

“What is now left, is for the white and brown and black bourgeoisie to buy into the approach and commit the resources needed for the communities to lift themselves out of the trap of relative deprivation and violence,” he said.

“Without some alliance, Kingston will certainly die of its wounds.”

The city, he added, has an interesting history, rich in culture and music and is home to the finest collection of “visual and plastic arts in the Anglophone Caribbean” and boasts a beautiful backdrop in the Blue and John Crow mountains.

Chevannes also likened Kingston’s everyday routines to that seen in other unique destinations such as New York and Mumbai.

“And if we were to think not of the city proper but of the Kingston Metropolitan Area, the historic buildings in the Old Capital offer rich excursions in history for the country’s own edification, not to mention that of its visitors,” he added.

“In short,” professor Chevannes continued, “Kingston has a rich appeal, so I repeat, it is a marvel that there is no developed tourism here.”

This year’s academic conference is being held under the theme, “Tourism: The Driver of Change in the Jamaican Economy.” Other presenters yesterday included businessman Karl Hendrickson who proposed community tourism as a way forward, saying such initiatives “encourage cultural and environmental preservation”.

Another presenter, Dr Anne Crick, who heads the university’s Department of Management Studies, convinced the participants that there is much potential for small hotels, proposing as options for them, business alliances with larger chains and niche marketing.