nurse reggae sunsplash

BRINGING CULTURE INTO TOURISM: FESTIVAL TOURISM AND REGGAE SUNSPLASH INJAMAICAAuthor(s): Keith NurseSource: Social and Economic Studies, Vol. 51, No. 1, Tourism in the Caribbean (MARCH 2002),pp. 127-143Published by: Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West IndiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27865264 .Accessed: 31/08/2011 20:02

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

University of the West Indies and Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies are collaboratingwith JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Social and Economic Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=salises

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=uwi

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27865264?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

Social and Economic Studies 51:1 (2002) ISSN: 0037-7651

BRINGING CULTURE INTO TOURISM:

FESTIVAL TOURISM AND REGGAE

SUNSPLASH IN JAMAICA

Keith Nurse

ABSTRACT

The economic contribution of the cultural or entertainment industries to tourism

is largely undervalued in Caribbean development policy. This article confronts this lacuna and gives some insight into the costs and benefits of festival tour

ism. The article argues that festival tourism is an efficacious strategy given that

the Caribbean enjoys a healthy reputation in live entertainment, the perfor mance arts and the music industry. The case of Jamaica and Reggae Sunsplash is used to illustrate how festivals make a healthy return on investment in terms

of arrivals, occupancy rates, visitor expenditures, international media exposure and destination loyalty from cultural tourists. The socio-economic and political

challenges of festival management are also discussed. The article calls for the " culturalization

" of tourism and recommends festival tourism as an effective

means to enhance competitiveness in Caribbean tourism as well as bolster

cultural identity and confidence.

Introduction

The synergy between tourism and the cultural industries is largely under-researched in the Caribbean. This state of affairs can be ex

plained by the fact that the cultural industries have traditionally been viewed as leisure and recreational activities and not as a com

mercially viable sector. Another problem is that the demand-pull of the cultural industries tends to be excluded if not minimised in

analyses of the tourism industry. This is in spite of the fact that

festivals throughout the region contribute in a significant way to

boost tourism arrivals, visitor expenditures and hotel occupancy rates.

127-143

1 2 8 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES

Throughout the Caribbean this aspect of the tourist industry is gaining prominence in the tourism calendar. Trinidad Carnival,

Cropover in Barbados, the Jazz Festival in St. Lucia and the Meringue festival in the Dominican Republic are prime examples. Each of these

festivals is known to have a significant impact on visitor arrivals, airlifts and hotel occupancy rates with spillover effects on local

transport (e.g. car rentals) and the food, beverage and restaurant

sectors. Actual data on the economic impact of these festivals is

largely underdeveloped. Where there is data the impact has been

considerable.

The St. Lucia Jazz Festival, which has been in operation for

eight years and has become the premier jazz festival in the region, is estimated to have visitor expenditures of US$ 7.0 million ? a

healthy return on investment by any measure given the budget of

US$1.0 million. In the week of the festival tourist arrivals jump by 8,000 and hotels have an occupancy rate of over 90%, which is higher than the peak winter tourism season. The festival also enjoys strong international media coverage from print journalist and cable broad

cast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). Festival organisers argue that the media exposure the festival enjoys aids in the niche

marketing strategy and is equivalent to the country's entire tourism budget.

Trinidad's Carnival has long been viewed as the premier fes

tival in the region. It attracts over thirty thousand visitors each

year. The earnings in terms of visitor expenditures are estimated to

be US$9.65 (see table 1 below) and the general economic impact of

the festival is estimated to be US$50-67 million. This is due to the

fact that the Trinidad carnival has an impact beyond that of festi

val tourism. The carnival has spawned an entertainment sector, which has strong export capability. The three main artforms in the

carnival, the steel pan, masquerade costumes and calypso music, have generated export markets, especially in the over seventy over

seas Caribbean carnivals in North America and Europe. Conse

quently, after the carnival festivities, many carnivalists, especially the music bands, embark upon the annual circuit of carnivals and

other events where their services are employed (Nurse 1997; 1999).

Bringing Culture Into Tourism 129

TABLE 1: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN FESTIVALS, 1998

Festival Budget Visitor Expenditures

St. Lucia Jazz US$1.0 million US$6.92 million

Trinidad Carnival US$2.0 million US$9.65 million

Cultural and Festival Tourism

An important feature of cultural tourism1 is that of events or festi

vals. The experience with festivals and other cultural events is that

they tend to create a tourism demand that is resilient and less sus

ceptible to economic downturns. Successful festivals enhance the

image of tourist destinations, aid in the rejuvenation of cities in

decline, and create new economic activities in rural or peripheral areas. Cultural tourism has emerged to be an important innova

tion and a new source for competitive advantage in the tourism

industry. Increasingly, it is being appreciated that the relationship between the tourism and cultural industries is such that cultural

industries generate demand for tourism while tourism generates additional markets and income for the cultural sector (Myerscough 1988: 91).

Appreciation of the relationship between tourism and the

cultural industries has grown with increased attention to the

economic importance of the arts. For example, a British study notes

that the contribution of the arts to the tourism economy was esti

mated to be 41% of overseas tourist spending. It is also that arts

related tourists stay 75 per cent longer and spend 64 per cent more

per trip (Myerscough 1988: 85-86). The benefits to tourism of the cultural industries have gained

in recognition on the other side of the Atlantic. In New York, it was

estimated that approximately 40 percent of overseas visitors are

cultural tourists, in what is measured to be a $2.5 billion industry

1 Cultural tourism includes a broad range of activities such as touring historical,

heritage and archaeological sites, visiting art galleries, museums and craft

exhibitions, and attending arts performances, live entertainment and festivals.

1 30 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES

(Alliance for the Arts 1997; McKinsey & Company 1997). As in the case of the UK cultural tourists who visit New York tend to stay

longer, spend more and have a keen interest in the arts, live perfor mances and festivals.

The economic contribution of festivals is also quite signifi cant. For example, in the mid-1990s, the Edinburgh Festival in Scot

land operated on a budget of ?5.0 million and generated income of ?13.4 million, approximately 70% of which came from non-festival

related activities like accommodation, travel and food (Casey et al

1996: 100). As illustrated, cultural tourism is an important direct out

come from a vibrant cultural industry sector. It is also recognized that tourists today are looking for more than just sand, sea and

surf. This is reflected in the growth of eco-tourism, adventure-tour

ism as well as festival tourism.

Festivals in Jamaica

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), having realized the viability of

festivals in terms of filling rooms and community response has

embarked on a program of promoting festivals locally. There are a

growing number of musical and cultural festivals throughout the

island (see Table 2). These festivals promote everything from indig enous food and craft to film and music. Private promoters run most

of the festivals with assistance from the JTB in terms of external

marketing and logistical support. The main aim of the festivals is to

promote international and domestic tourism. They are also a me

dium through which the JTB demonstrates to the local population how tourism can work for their community by promoting indig enous specialty and cultural products and services.

In light of the success of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, Jamaica has

developed three Jazz festivals: the Ocho Rios Jazz, All That Heritage and Jazz and Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues. The Air Jamaica Jazz Festival is the largest of the three festivals in terms of attendance, overseas visitors, advertisement and promotions and budget. Air

Jamaica, the national airline and main sponsor, developed the festi

val with the aim of generating overseas, diasporic, regional and

domestic tourism and branding the destination and air carrier

through media exposure. From Air Jamaica's perspective, the main


TABLE 2: CALENDAR OF MUSICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS

MONTH FESTIVAL MONTH FESTIVAL

January Air Jamaica Jazz Festival

Accompong Maroon Festival

Rebel Salute

July Jamaica Spice Food Festival

Shrimp Festival

February Bob Marley Birthday Celebrations Ne ni Fat Tyre and Music

April Drax Hall Kite Festival

Jamaica Carnival

Trelawny Yam Festival

June Ocho Rios Jazz Festival

August Reggae Sumfest Reggae Sunsplash Jerk Pork Festival

October Mento Yard All That Heritage and Jazz Festival

November Caribbean Music Expo Jamerican Film & Music Festival

Caribbean Heritage Festival

Source: Jamaica Tourist Board, 1999.

aim of the festival is to attract new visitors to Jamaica and create awareness for the island, especially during the winter season.

During the last festival, visitor accommodation in Ocho Rios reached its peak, with approximately half of the estimated 3,500 to 4,000 rooms filled with jazz enthusiasts. According to Allan Chastenet of Air Jamaica, "cultural events such as these not only help to pro mote the island, but are also a good source of foreign exchange, since cultural tourists have a tendency to spend more.... Tourists

who visit Jamaica for the Jazz and Blues festival go out more often and visit more attractions. In terms of advertising, it is estimated that the island received television exposure worth well over US$1

million/' (Sunday Observer 1999:6). A survey conducted by the JTB (2000) estimates that 16,700

persons attended the fourth annual Jazz festival over the four days of events. Local attendance was as high as 65% suggesting that as

much as 35% of the attendees were overseas visitors. There is no

data on the exact number of visitors for the festival or their expen


ditures. A survey conducted by the JTB indicates that (JTB 2000:

6-7): 60% spent five nights or more in Jamaica. 42% of the visitors (460) came on an Air Jamaica Vacations

package.

During the festival most hotels in the region were close to

full.

All-inclusive hotels estimate a boost of between 5% ? 30%.

EP hotel enjoyed an impact in the range of 40% ? 90%.

An analysis of this data suggests that approximately 1,100 visitors came for the festival and on average spent at least 5 nights. With an

average expenditure of US$100 per person per night, the foreign

exchange impact can be put conservatively at $550,000.00. There is no data to support an analysis of the impact of domestic tourism, which by all indications, appears to be very considerable. The level

of visitor expenditure is small relative to the budget of the festival, which is in excess of $750,000. The festival's main impact appears to

be in improved hotel occupancy rates and media exposure, but not

in visitor arrivals, which would benefit Air Jamaica more directly. It is no small wonder that in spite of the significant overall

benefits that have derived from the festival over the past four years that Air Jamaica has decided to postpone the 2001 festival. The

main explanation given relates to the high cost of the festival and

the relatively low returns to Air Jamaica compared to other benefi

ciaries, for example, the hoteliers and the tourism economy at large. The problem appears to be essentially one of free riding. Air

Jamaica has been calling for a higher level of sponsorship and in

vestment from the JTB as well as from other beneficiaries like the

hotel sector. In fact, it is because of the lack of hotelier sponsorship that the Air Jamaica Jazz festival was moved in its second year from Montego Bay to the James Bond Beach in Oracabesa, which is

near to Ocho Rios. The postponement of the 2001 Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival along with the continued absence of Reggae

Sunsplash leaves only two festivals that are strong tourist-pull factors on Jamaica's tourism calendar: Ocho Rios Jazz and Reggae Sumfest.

Bringing Culture Into Tourism 13 3

Reggae Sunsplash

Perhaps, the best example of people identification with the tourism product by way of heritage promotion is the devel

opment of Sunsplash, the reggae festival which attracts cer tain visitors to Jamaica for that reason and none other, to

share in the heritage of popular music which is the creation of the people of Jamaica and now deemed as natural to it as are the sun, the sand and the sea (Nettleford 1990: 9).

Reggae Sunsplash had a significant impact during its lifetime.

Although now defunct, the festival served to help promote Jamaica as a destination and provided an important showcase for reggae talent from Jamaica and abroad. It drew crowds of reggae lovers

and entertainment and media personnel from all over the world.

Reggae Sunsplash was.an institution which was not only the

forerunner to all other reggae festivals, but it accomplished great feats which proved to benefit the tourist trade" (The Gleaner, March

29, 1999). Reggae Sunsplash set a precedent for festival tourism in

the Caribbean. It also established the model for reggae concerts

locally and internationally. The first Reggae Sunsplash, which was conceived by Synergy

Productions,2 was held in the summer of 1978. The idea for creating a week-long programme of musical entertainment came as a result

of an event tourism project ?

"Singles Week" ? which had been

organized by the JTB in association with a New York based public relations firm, Peter Martin and Associates (PMA). Singles Week

was designed to attract 2,000 young upwardly mobile visitors

during the summer of 1978 to enjoy sun, sea and surf. Synergy Productions saw an opportunity for staging a reggae festival given the dearth of nightly entertainment activities at the time. Synergy

approached the JTB and PMA and from that point, a new festival

was born. The objectives that guided Synergy's production of

Reggae Sunsplash were as follows (Burke 1993:19):

Presenting Jamaica's premier reggae artistes on stage in a

first class production.

2 Reggae Sunsplash and Synergy Productions were started by Tony Johnson, Don Taylor and Ronnie Burke.


Using Jamaica's music as a vehicle for developing tourism.

Reviving the dormant summer tourist season in Montego

Bay.

Providing employment to our art and craft producers by

linking tourism with our rich cultural heritage.

The first staging of Reggae Sunsplash was held on June 23,1978 in a

sports club called Jarrett Park, in the tourist resort of Montego Bay. The festival was a musical success, but a financial nightmare because of the large number of unpaid patrons. Nonetheless, the

festival got overwhelmingly positive reviews from the few inter

national journalists who were in attendance. As testimony to this, the following year as many as 120 international journalists de

scended on Jamaica for the second edition of Sunsplash. This was

also the year that Bob Marley and the Wailers along with Third

World and Toots and the Maytals made an appearance at the festi

val. The rave reviews of the journalists did much to establish the

young festival as the world's greatest reggae festival.

Synergy Productions held Sunsplash in the summer months

of July and August, which was the trough period for hoteliers be

fore the festival got started. At the outset, the festival attracted a

predominately foreign crowd. In spite of this, the festival was often

represented in a negative light due to the stereotypes that were

associated with reggae music (e.g. smoking marijuana and violence) at the time. The hoteliers and corporate community were therefore

reluctant to sponsor and or invest in the festival. Moreover, the

festival generated significant economic benefits for a large number

of actors, most of whom did not contribute to the financing of the

event.

The problem of stigmatization continued as the years went

by because of the increase in the size of the local audience. This shift

also reflected a change in Jamaican music. By the mid-1980s, the roots rock reggae associated with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff had begun to give way to the dancehall or DJ style of music

from the likes of Yellowman, Lt. Stitchie, Super Cat and Ninja Man.

Dancehall was more popular with the mass of the Jamaican popu lation. Dancehall night emerged as the premier event of the festival

achieving a peak in attendance of 40,000 in the early 1990s.


In 1980, the third year of the festival's existence Reggae

Sunsplash moved to Kingston and was staged at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Center. It was also during this time that

the JIB took an active interest in the festival. In the fourth and fifth

year, 1981 and 1982, the festival moved back to Jarrett Park, Montego

Bay. 1983 saw the festival at a new venue, the Bob Marley Perform

ing Center in Montego Bay. Jarrett Park, the former venue, had long been inadequate for what had become an internationally acclaimed

event. In 1988, with the growth in dancehall music, the festival

introduced the Sound System Clash, which did much to boost local

participation. The 14th and 15th staging of Sunsplash, 1991 and 1992, heralded the introduction of Caribbean night and World Beat night.

The year 1992 marked the final year that the festival was held

in Montego Bay. The organizers sought an alternative venue due to

the decline in sponsorship from the hotel sector. Hoteliers that had

previously offered discounted or concessionary rates to the festival

organizers (for example, for performing artists and festival staff) had begun to withdraw sponsorship when the festival became suc

cessful. Sunsplash, faced with increased cost and uncooperative hoteliers, decided to move the festival to a new location. This strat

egy backfired. Within six weeks of Reggae Sunsplash's departure a

group of tourism and banking businessmen from Montego (Summerfest Productions) pulled together a rival reggae festival

and called it Reggae Sumfest. It is noted that Montegonians "could

not afford to let the revenue that Sunsplash generated slip away from their city, particularly during the summer (the slowest of

tourist seasons for the popular MoBay)" (Meschino 1995: 14). It was at this point that Sunsplash went back to Kingston.

This move impacted negatively on the festival. In 1993 and 1994 the

festival was held at Jamworld Entertainment Center in Portmore, St. Catherine, and 1994 became the last year that Reggae Sunsplash was promoted and organized by Synergy, mainly because of finan

cial problems. The festival was sold in 1995 to Radobar Holdings and was renamed Reggae Sunsplash International. The 15th Reggae Sunsplash was held in Dover, St. Ann, which proved to be a finan

cial disaster. After another poor financial performance in 1996, the

festival was suspended in 1997. Reggae Sunsplash was re-estab

lished in 1998 with some assistance from the Ministry of Tourism.


It was decided to move the festival to Ocho Rios and to shift the event to the winter season and to coincide with Bob Marley's birth

day on February 6th. The goal was to forge a collaboration with the

Bob Marley Foundation's staging of Bob Marley Week, which in

volved activities like a church service, a songwriters' workshop and symposia.

The staging of Sunsplash 20 also saw the introduction of a

Gospel Night on the closing night, which drew the largest crowd of

the festival (approximately 6,000). A relatively low turnout at

Sunsplash 20 led to another postponement. The Bob Marley Foun

dation, however, continued with its activities in 1999. In addition,

Sunsplash was upstaged by the hosting of the Bob Marley All-Star

Tribute in December 1999, which featured a pan-genre line-up of

superstars: Erykah Badu, Sheryl Crow, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Sarah McLachlan, Seal, Rita Marley and Ziggy

Marley and the Melody Makers. The 'One Love' tribute concert was

broadcast on the cable network 'TnT'.

Since 1999 Reggae Sumfest has filled the void left by Sunsplash. The former has succeeded in attracting much of the same local

corporate sponsorship as its predecessor. For example, Appleton Jamaican Rum and Restaurants of Jamaica (which also sponsored

Sunsplash), franchise holders for Kentucky Fried Chicken, have been

sponsors since inception while Wray & Nephew Rum Cream joined in 1996. Other sponsors for Sumfest 2000 included VP Records,

Matterhorn, Red Stripe beer, CVM Television, The Gleaner and X

News newspapers, and radio stations like Hot 102 and Irie FM. The

festival also enjoys a partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board

and Air Jamaica. The festival has been extended to six nights and

has introduced rhythm and blues artists to the line-up. Sumfest

has been able to draw crowds of up to 50,000 and much of the

international media for music such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vibe, Much Music, VH1, MTV and BBC.

Economic Impact Assessment

From 1978 to 1994, Reggae Sunsplash was managed and organized

by Synergy Productions. Thereafter, it was sold to Radobar Hold

ings Limited. Synergy Productions estimates that by the late 1980s

the festival was attracting as many as 10,000 visitors and generat

Bringing Culture Into Tourism 13 7

ing approximately US$12 million (J$66 million) in spending (Henry 1989). The injection of foreign exchange from tourists and the earn

ings from domestic tourism had a substantial impact on several actors such as vendors, artisans, artists, musicians, hotels,

guesthouses, car rental agencies and taxi operators. It is evident from the visitor arrivals that Sunsplash almost

single-handedly converted what was a trough in the tourism cal

endar to a summer season that rivalled the traditional peak season

during the winter months. In addition, it is noted that the festival

enjoyed a high percentage of repeat visitors, which had a spillover into the wider tourism economy. It can also be argued that the

festival helped to put Jamaica on the world map of tourism. The case of the Japanese is instructive. A 1994 Japanese survey of trav

ellers placed Jamaica in 9th position among preferred destinations.

The ranking of Jamaica was attributed largely to the popularity of

reggae in Japan. For example/reggae came in fourth in most popu lar images after the Pyramids of Egypt, Anne of Green Gables in

Prince Edward Island, Canada, and shopping in Hong Kong (PSI

1997). The principal data available to give some indication of the

economic impact of Sunsplash is hotel room occupancy rates. Table

3 draws a comparison between a week in February, the peak of the

tourism season, and the week of Reggae Sunsplash to evaluate the

relative impact of tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy levels in

Montego Bay. The table shows that in 1981, and for every year from

1983 until 1992, the hotel occupancy levels attributed to Sunsplash

outstripped that of a peak week in the winter tourist season. The

hotel occupation levels for Sunsplash grew progressively through out the period peaking in 1987 and again in 1992.

The data for the period 1995,1996 and 1998 does not allow for

the same level of rigor in determining the economic impact of the

festival but gives some indication of the overall effect. It is observed

that Reggae Sunsplash, although under new management (Radobar

Holdings) and at a new venue (Ocho Rios), was able to impact posi tively on hotel occupancy levels. The data for this period is not as

convincing in that it is monthly occupancy rates rather than weekly

figures. Nonetheless, it does illustrate that a month outside of the

traditional peak tourist season can enjoy high occupancy rates with


a festival tourism strategy. In 1998, the festival was not held in the

usual July/August month but during February.

Table 3: Average Hotel Occupancy in Montego Bay, 1979?1994

First Week in February & Week of Reggae Sunsplash

Ist WEEK IN WEEK REGGAE YEAR FEBRUARY (%) SUNSPLASH (%)

1979 *1980

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

*1993 *1994

75.5 77.2

45.1

69.4 72.6

70.8

60.7

68.6 79.6

67.8

59.3 59.9 46.8

48.6 52.8

57.5

45

36 52.3

66.5

75.4

78.5 74.2

82.6

82.7

77.3

73.8

76.6 74.9

85.2 71.1

45.9

Source: Jamaica Tourist Board, Annual Travel Statistics, several years * Reggae Sunsplash held in Kingston

Festival Management

Reggae Sunsplash received worldwide acclaim from the interna

tional media and this undoubtedly served to formalise reggae as an

established musical artform. The media exposure of the festival also created a strong tourism demand-pull. However, the festival ran into systemic problems like free riding with which so many other festivals are plagued. The following observations illustrates the dimension of the problem (UNCTAD1999:57):

...the economic benefits of the festival have remained

limited for both the private owner and the Jamaican economy. Although the Jamaican Tourist Board supports the market

3 In 1981 the winter season was impacted by the negative press from the 1980 election violence.


ing of Sunsplash, this is insignificant compared with many European festivals. In 1996 this event attracted up to 70 artists. The price of admission at the gate was US$420; how ever, no profit was made by the owner/organizer, and there was little value-added activity, with only one CD stall selling the product.

...the event fails to capture the value added of the tourism

package as a whole. On a five-day package holiday, for ex

ample, the airfare is from US$300 plus ground transfer costs, the hotel is US$60 per night, food and water are US$40 and souvenirs etc. cost about US$100. Out of overall expenditure

by the tourist of US$1,200 the event receives less than 10 per cent, and the Jamaican economy as a whole no more than 50

per cent.

The above analysis illustrates why the festival was so reliant on

the box office as the major source of revenue. Furthermore, for sev

eral years the organizers did not increase ticket prices.4 However, when they did, the attendance declined significantly. The several

changes of location and dates also contributed to the festival's de cline. In particular, the move from the resort area of Montego Bay to the city of Kingston impacted on the domestic tourism generated by the middle classes and also affected overseas visitors given the

city's reputation for violence.

The state of the local economy, devaluation of the dollar, lack of financial support from the state, limited corporate sponsorship and increases in artist fees resulted in the festival having an accu

mulated deficit and even owing back taxes. The emergence of a rival

reggae festival, Reggae Sumfest, which was held in Montego Bay, the first home of Reggae Sunsplash, also proved to be a great threat as both festivals were competing for the same audience, corporate

sponsorship, media attention and pool of talent. The result was

that Jamaica could not sustain two reggae festivals. Another issue that has often been raised in relation to the

management of the festival was the role of the government. Festival

organizers complain that the government's financial investment in the festival was not commensurate with the benefits to the tourism sector and the wider economy. They also argue that the demand

4 One festival goer observes that ticket prices had only increased by US$5.00 in the years 1982 to 1992 (Hickman 1992).


pull and the media exposure generated by the festival had greater returns than many of the promotional and marketing strategies

employed at the JIB. The governmental sector has often countered

these arguments by criticizing the management of the festival and/ or questioning the economic claims made by the festival organiz ers. No economic impact assessment was ever conducted on the

festival and so the contribution of Sunsplash has remained un

documented. The result was that Reggae Sunsplash, through most

of its history, found little support from the governmental sector

either in terms of the provision of an adequate venue or in t?rms of overseas marketing and promotion. Festival organizers argue that

the government was able to free ride on their investment in much

the same way that the hoteliers had done.

The JTB, since the mid-1990s has paid greater attention to

festivals and events as components in the tourism strategy. The JTB

currently funds and contributes to several cultural events, for ex

ample, Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival, the Caribbean Music

Expo and the Jamerican Film and Music festival. Beyond funding, it

also provides marketing and promotional support, managerial and

technical assistance and logistical support in line with its core com

petencies. The JIB has resisted calls for it to play a more interven

tionist role, arguing for example, that its role and core competence is not that of a festival promoter and that this is best handled by the

private sector. Critics point to the beneficial contribution from pub lic sector tourism agencies in territories like St. Lucia and St. Kitts &

Nevis. These countries are much smaller than Jamaica and have a

less developed entertainment sector upon which to draw for entre

preneurship. However, the essential point is that festivals have had a difficult experience in Jamaica because of the high level of free

riding and the failure of the market to sustain private sector entre

preneur ship. There is limited data on the performance of Sumfest from a

tourism standpoint. A visitor survey has not been administered.

Consequently, there is no information on what percentage of the

audience are foreign visitors. However, anecdotal evidence and

media reports suggest that the number of foreign visitors to the

reggae festival has declined. This is partly explained by the shift

away from roots reggae toward dancehall. To counter this the


festival organizers have in recent years resorted to putting hip hop artists on the bill to boost flagging attendance and media coverage. This strategy has come in for severe criticism and has not had the desired effect. In many respects the Sumfest festival has been un

able to match the tourism pull and the media exposure that

Sunsplash had achieved in its heyday.

Conclusion

The analysis of the international and regional experience with cul

tural and festival tourism suggests that there is much scope for

growth. It also appears to be an effective means by which a country can differentiate and diversify its tourism product in the increas

ingly competitive world of global tourism, as illustrated in the case

of Trinidad Carnival and the St. Lucia Jazz Festival. This strategy calls for increased investment in the cultural industries as well as

the identification of additional synergies with the tourism sector.

In part, this goal can be achieved by a marketing focus on festival

and cultural tourism.

A sustainable festival tourism strategy must create a signifi cant pyscho-cultural impact. A critical aspect of festivals, espe

cially indigenous ones, is the way in which they allow for creative

expression and bolster the cultural identity and confidence of a

people. This is manifest in strong word-of-mouth promotion and

the general good-feel that they generate. Festivals and the cultural

industries are a means by which the Caribbean can further per

petuate and transplant its culture and values and thus influence

global culture, media and public opinion. The decline of Reggae Sunsplash and the recent postponement

of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival signal that a festival tour

ism strategy is difficult to sustain on pure market terms. As the two

festivals illustrate, events of this type cannot generate enough revenue from gate receipts. If they are also subject to free riding from corporate entities like hoteliers and airlines then they suffer

the fate of market failure. This explains why most large festivals

worldwide are financed in large part through governments when

corporate sponsorship is insufficient. Financing a festival strategy has proven to be a worthy investment in other Caribbean

territories.


The Jamaican tourism sector, on the other hand, has not found

the right mix of public and private investment to sustain its key festivals. For Jamaica the time may have arrived for the govern

ment to provide a higher level of leadership in bringing the key stakeholders in the tourism economy into a joint festival strategy. If

the festivals are left to the winds of the market and government indifference the Jamaican tourism industry may find that it has

squandered its initial advantage in this dynamic area of tourism

development.

REFERENCES

Alliance for the Arts (1997). The Economic Impact of the Arts on New York

City and New York State. (City of New York: Arts Research Center).

Burke, Suzanne (1993). "Reggae Sunsplash in St. Catherine ? A New

Chapter", Reggae Sunsplash: No. 19.

Casey, B et al (1996). Culture as Commodity? The Economics of the Arts and Built Heritage in the UK (London: Policy Studies Institute).

Henry, Balfour (1989). "Sunsplash and Jamaica's Summer Tourism":

Reggae Sunsplash 38?39.

Hickman, Carl (1992). "Ten Years of Reggae Sunsplash", Reggae Sunsplash: 51-53.

Jarrett, Mike (1991). "Reggae Sunsplash ? A Short History", Reggae

Sunsplash: 11-16.

JTB (1998). Annual Travel Statistics 1998. Jamaica Tourist Board, Kingston.

JTB (2000). An Assessment of the Fourth Annual Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues FestivaL Jamaica Tourist Board, Kingston.

Mensah, K (1997). "Reggae needs a new direction to escape its boom

bust cycle" Music Business International, June: 49?51.

Meschino, Pat (1995). "A Tale of Two Festivals", Rhythm Music, Vol. 4, No.

10:14-17.

McKinsey & Company (1997). You Gotta have ART!: Profile of a Great Investment for New York State. (New York: McKinsey & Company).

Myerscough, J. (1988) The Economic Importance of the Arts in Britain

(London: Policy Studies Institute).

Nettleford, R. (1990). "Heritage Tourism and the Myth of Paradise."

Caribbean Review 1 6.3 & 4: 8-9.


Nurse, K. (1997). The Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Industry: Struc

ture and Export Capabilities. Caribbean Dialogue, 3.3: 13-38.

Nurse, K. (1999). The Globalization of Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity in Global Culture. Cultural Studies, 13.4.

RSI (1997). "Music Industry Analysis" Reggae Sunsplash International,

Kingston.

UNCTAD (1999). The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Review ?

Jamaica. New York, United Nations.

nurse reggae sunsplash

Documents