Small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) were the focus of the second United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises, which was held last week at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Rose Hall, St James.

Leading up to the conference, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has continuously stressed the fact that 80 per cent of global tourism is driven by SMTE’s but only 20 per cent is returned to them.

The conference therefore sought to bring together financiers, successful small-and-medium-sized entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, professionals and policymakers to discuss strategies for the strengthening of SMTEs.

As the conference unfolded, two areas of discussion – tourism linkages and experiential tourism – became buzzwords during the various panel discussions, speeches and presentations.

The term linkages in this context refers to the connection between tourism and other economic sectors while experiential tourism refers to the growing trend of travellers seeking to immerse themselves deeply in the culture, history, gastronomy and various ways of a country through close and meaningful interaction with its people.

“Tourism is valuable for development with linkages that run deep into the local economy and multiply the growth impact from trade,” the tourism minister stated at the conference. “It is, therefore incumbent on us to build a smart and sustainable framework to better integrate SMTEs into the tourism value chain.”

This need for strengthening of the various linkages between tourism and other economic sectors, and the relevance of experiential tourism in all of this became clear as the conference progressed.

Carolyn McDonald-Riley, director of the Tourism Linkages Network, conducted a presentation at the conference on a lot of the positive work being done by this entity in the area of experiential tourism.

The organisation, which is funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, is divided into five networks – Gastronomy, Health & Wellness, Sport & Entertainment, Shopping and Knowledge. Two technical working groups Agriculture and Manufacturing feed into these networks.

McDonald-Riley gave key examples of progress in the industry that the network has helped to facilitate. She referred to the Spa Standards and Accreditation Programme which has helped spas bring their services up to national standards.

In the area of Sport and Entertainment, the Tourism Linkages Network facilitates the marketing of seasonal events in conjunction with the Jamaica Tourist Board and has been developing a more diverse entertainment product. The network’s marketing efforts helped boost the island’s carnival activities through an 11.4 per cent increase in stopover arrivals in March 2018 over March 2017 and 7.8 per cent over 2016.

The network-facilitated Style Jamaica shopping showcase has connected local designers to the tourism industry as well as diversifying the shopping offerings on the island and promoting Jamaica as a shopping destination.

In the Manufacturing network, the Christmas In July Trade Show, a Tourism Linkages Network initiative, has generated over $15 million in contracts for suppliers while Speed Networking, an initiative conducted in partnership with the JHTA which involves pre-scheduled meetings between suppliers and buyers/hoteliers, generated over $10 million.

On www.agrilinkages.com, an online market for farmers and buyers within the tourism industry, there are 400 farmers listed and 80 active buyers. Between September and December 2018 the agricultural produce marketed via the site amounted to over $93 million in sales.

These are just some of the areas where the Tourism Linkages Network has helped to – in the words of the tourism minister – “build a smart and sustainable framework to better integrate SMTEs into the tourism value chain.”

Nicola Madden-Greig is the chairman of the Gastronomy Network within the Tourism Linkages Network. One of the most significant achievements in her department has been the creation of an app for Taste Jamaica, the Master Brand for Jamaica’s Gastronomy Tourist Product.

The microsite and mobile app for www.tastejamaica.com lists over 500 gastronomy-related entities including restaurants, bars and lounges, farmers markets, street food vendors and festivals. It features a blog, articles, rankings of locales and sends out push notifications with new information.

Following the conference, Madden-Greig spoke enthusiastically about the role of the mobile app in the promotion of Jamaican gastronomy to visiting tourists.

“The app is meant to build awareness and drive desire to get out and experience gastronomy offerings prior to their arrival in Jamaica,” she said. “So far we have seen tremendous uptick in visits from all over the world including traditional markets such as USA, Canada and UK, and non-traditional such as Costa Rica, Japan and Vietnam. The app geo-location allows visitors while on the island to see what locales are within one hour of their venue.”

Devon House in Kingston, which has been the focus of the Gastronomy Network’s offerings, now has 13 entities offering culinary options and the attraction now hosts more than 50,000 guests each month.

The Jamaica Blue Mountain Culinary Trail has been developed by the network and currently has tour operators offering tours for this experience. The trail has also been the subject of several articles in international media.

In March 2018, the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, another project of the network, had 64 farmers participating in a Farmers Trade Day, 38 coffee and coffee-infused product booths at Marketplace and over 1000 patrons in attendance.

A survey completed in 2016 and 2017 demonstrates the success that Jamaica’s Gastronomy Network has enjoyed in moving this sector of the tourism economy forward. In 2016, 14 per cent of the survey’s respondents ranked food as one of their Top 10 reasons for visiting Jamaica while in 2017 that figure rose to 24 per cent.. This shift moved food from 6th position to second place.

“Experiential tourism is growing and Jamaica is uniquely poised to take advantage due to our natural assets, our culture, food and music,” said Madden-Greig. “Through Gastronomy we have been working to implement specific programmes but also to inspire others to create new and inspirational offerings. Operators such as Stush in the Bush and Jamaica Inn recognise these opportunities and have created unique experiences through partnerships with other local businesses.”

Stush in the Bush is what is termed a farm-to-table experience and is a perfect example of experiential tourism. It is run by Lisa and Chris Binns who carry out organic farming in St Ann and prepare creative vegan meals for guests who make private bookings to visit the farm for a special and different dining experience.

Lisa Binns, who also presented at the tourism conference, revealed that Stush in the Bush has become so popular that they have no need for traditional advertising. Her revelation is indicative of the fast-growing trend towards immersive experiences in the tourism and travel industry.

Kyle Mais, the general manager of Jamaica Inn also elaborated at the conference on his hotel’s experiential offerings revealing some very unique ventures. The hotel has created a fish sanctuary – the White River Fish Sanctuary – that guests with an interest in the environment can visit.

Jamaica Inn, which was named the Caribbean’s Leading Luxury All Suite Resort 2018 by the World Travel Awards and voted No 1 hotel in Jamaica by the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Awards in 2017, offers tours to a local craft market as well as shopping tours to the local farmers market with the hotel’s executive chef. But perhaps the most innovative initiative is a special all-inclusive package offered by the hotel that includes a meal at a local restaurant.

As the Jamaican tourism industry advances towards meeting the challenges faced by SMTEs, Stush in the Bush and Jamaica Inn are just two of many success stories that can serve as models for future development in this area through the strengthening and exploitation of linkages within various sectors of the economy.

Mais was very appreciative of the role the institutions within the Jamaican tourism industry have played in helping his hotel realise its accomplishments and spoke to the importance of tourism events that help to facilitate linkages.

“The partnerships with the JHTA, JTB and TPDCO have been fruitful in our quest to utilise and offer the best products and services Jamaica has to offer,” the general manager affirmed. “We make every effort to attend their product fairs and trade shows where linkages from all industries are made. I firmly believe we must all truly become ‘mutually inclusive’ and that it is vital that tourism benefits all business sectors to realise the levels of economic growth we need in Jamaica. We need to ‘buy Jamaican’ and not pay lip service to this philosophy.”