JAMAICA UNCUT: BEYOND THE IMAGE OF SUN, SEA AND SAND The essence of all the responses, though slightly varied, could be quickly summed up in one-word— “escape,” in keeping with Cooper’s observation that “indeed, tourism is often packaged in travel brochures as ‘escape’ from the everyday anxieties of real living.” 46
3.3. The Legacy of Colonization and Its Impact on Jamaica’s Tourism Industry Although present-day Jamaica is seemingly synonymous with “paradise,” a tropical Eden to escape mundane routines for many of its visitors, this was not always the case. As previously discussed in Chapter Two, Jamaica welcomed many new inhabitants to its shores. With the influence of European colonial power and the mass population transfer of enslaved Africans, Jamaica became a business, economic, and financial hub for the trade of goods. This remained the island’s primary purpose for those Europeans who ventured to its shores. The concept of Jamaica as a destination for enjoyment was far removed from the minds of most Europeans at the time. Due to illnesses such as malaria, which induced life-threatening fevers, and the ensuing high death rates, the country was deemed a “graveyard for Europeans.” 47 The medical beliefs of the time attributed the main source of these illnesses to the tropical atmosphere, advising most to avoid low lying coastal areas and beaches. Other factors characteristic of tropical regions such as the intense sun as well as insects such as mosquitos, were all deterrents for most. As one might discern, the endearing characteristics that make Jamaica a tourist hotspot today were the very characteristics that repulsed its European inhabitants of the time. However, with the development of industry, medicine and infrastructure came a slow transformation in Jamaica’s tourism prospects. This was particularly important for the island, as with the diminishing of the once-lucrative sugar industry and few other resources deemed valuable, the country
C. Cooper, Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). Frank Fonda Taylor, To Hell with Paradise: A History of the Jamaican Tourist Industry (Pittsburgh; London: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993, 16). 46 47
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