OPPOSITION spokesperson on creative industries and culture Nekeisha Burchell has argued that Jamaica’s cultural economy cannot continue relying on isolated viral moments, such as the recent visit by popular streamer IShowSpeed, and needs sustained investment in cultural tourism, live entertainment, and Jamaican storytelling year-round.

Making her contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Burchell said Jamaica possesses one of the richest cultural identities in the world but has failed to consistently organise and market its creative industries in a way that generates continuous economic activity for communities outside traditional tourism spaces.

“Because Jamaica must move beyond limiting cultural tourism to occasional performances and resort entertainment. People no longer simply want to observe culture, they want to experience it,” Burchell said.

She argued that cultural tourism should become a permanent feature of the Jamaican economy rather than something tied mainly to annual festivals and major international events.

“So why should cultural activation feel seasonal in the cultural capital of the Caribbean? Why should tourists struggle to find recurring, immersive Jamaican cultural experiences every single week?” she asked.

Burchell’s called for the building of what she described as a “living cultural economy”, one rooted in local communities, history, music, storytelling, and heritage tourism.

“Imagine visitors travelling through history itself, actors, storytellers, drummers, food vendors, costume designers, tour guides, historians, entire communities participating in a living cultural economy rooted in Jamaica’s history. Not abstract history, living history. That, Madam Speaker, is how rural economies remain alive. That is how tourism moves beyond resort walls. That is how educational tourism develops. That is how communities participate directly in the monetisation of their own heritage and identity,” Burchell added.

She pointed to last week’s visit by IShowSpeed as evidence of the global appetite for authentic Jamaican culture. During the visit, millions of viewers across social media platforms watched the streamer interact with Jamaican personalities, music and local culture in real time.

“And what captured global attention was not polished advertising…what we witnessed was digital tourism marketing, but it was packaged for IShowSpeed. We deserve that kind of packaging every week, every month in our country. Not just to show up once a year,” she added.

Burchell argued that Jamaica should be creating recurring cultural experiences capable of attracting both visitors and global online audiences throughout the year.

“They should be booking flights coming to Jamaica to know that they will see a Jamaican artist performing that week in a stage show somewhere, not just for Sumfest,” she said.

She also proposed broader use of storytelling and digital media to market Jamaican history and national heroes to younger generations and international audiences.

“Other countries have built million-dollar industries around fictional heroes, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, yet Jamaica possesses real heroes whose courage changed history itself. We should dramatise Sam Sharp, animate him, write novels about him, produce streaming series about him, make him emotionally accessible to younger generations, show him as human, young, brilliant, charismatic, in love, alive, because storytelling itself is economic infrastructure,” she declared.

Burchell maintained that Jamaica’s creative industries should be viewed not only as entertainment, but as a serious economic sector capable of generating employment, tourism revenue, and long-term national growth.