Tap into heritage tourism - Bridgewater
Published:Friday | December 10, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
United States ambassador to Jamaica, Pamela Bridgewater, is urging the island's stakeholders to tap into this lucrative and culturally rich heritage tourism market.
"It's a market that's untapped, and clearly Jamaica's beaches are magnificent, but the first thing I do when I go to another country is to sample its rich body of history," Bridgewater said.
The ambassador was addressing western Jamaica journalists at the US Consular Agency in Montego Bay, St James, recently.
As a career diplomat, Bridgewater has lived in countries known for their diverse culture and languages, including South Africa, Ghana and Benin.
She said as of the start of 2011, in celebration of the 'Year of the African Descendant' activities, the United States Embassy here will introduce a number of programmes focusing on the linkages between that continent and the Americas.
According to Bridgewater, African-American tourists would be interested in travelling here to reconnect with their past, one of the places their ancestors landed in the Americas.
"Our aim is to help people to understand the arts and elements of our culture," she said, adding that the Jamaican motto, 'Out of Many, One People', would serve as an important drawing card.