Over the last 5 years, we have seen an acceleration of indie-tourism in Jamaica. This is mainly due to the internet and the fact that individuals from different walks of life in Jamaica can showcase their lifestyles by doing all sorts of activities that might seem attractive to foreigners. It’s not just foreigners who are showing interest, it’s also residents from the diaspora.
This type of tourism is mainly niche based for now and it will probably be that way but individuals are carving out a space for themselves in the market. If you go on YouTube and search for “Jamaican wildlife channels” or other similar keywords you will find different channels who are showcasing different sides of Jamaica that might be of interest to foreigners.
Jamaican cooking channels are also growing on YouTube and guests are interested in this side of our culture. I must also note that Airbnb also plays a key role as well, as a result, an individual can put up a listing in a certain area and will probably get bookings at a certain time of the year. If that individual is creative, he or she can leverage the internet and the free tools available.
When our government is mainly focused on international tourism who are exploiting our resources with little to show for it. There are still individuals out there making the best of their situation and finding other ways to make a stable income, trying to overlap both the digital and physical space.
I am of the notion that the government should promote this more and help local residents within specific areas to kick-start their own indie tourism business. This is a big ask though, it is not that they cannot do it, the fact is probably that they are already bought out by men with “deep pockets”.
Regardless if they support or not, Jamaicans will push forward and carve out a space for themselves in this market. Over the next couple of years expect to see more growth in this area as more Jamaicans will leverage the internet to their benefit.
