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6 Changes Jamaica Can Make Toward Gaining Economic Empowerment

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Promote More Cultural Tourism to Capture the Affluent Black Community

Black people across the world spend approximately $40 billion on travel. However Jamaica typically focuses its marketing efforts on middle North American and European Caucasians.

Jamaica could easily capture more of that $40 billion market by promoting more of its cultural heritage and historical sites. The Jamaica Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr. Wykeham McNeill said the link between culture and tourism is essential as the people, culture, and heritage should be the country’s main marketing tools.

“The question we must ask ourselves is, are we doing enough to tell the story,” he said.

Example: Egypt

Egypt’s rich cultural experience spans thousands of years of history and the continuous practice of age-old traditions. Walk into the vestibules of the ancients; explore Ancient Egyptian temples, tombs and other monuments. This historical narrative is the type of example that a country like Jamaica could use to capture more of the $40 billion Black people spend on travel.

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