Jamaica "Home of Community Tourism": An Analysis of Authenticity and Women's Everyday Geographies

This research explores Countrystyle Community Tourism (CTT) operating in the rural communities of Beeston Spring and Treasure Beach, Jamaica. Data were collected over the summer of 2013 from semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The findings of this research concluded that CCT operates within the structure of capitalism and it has created a niche by promoting its tourism product as an authentic Jamaican experience. Additionally, I argue that the expansion of CCT in the formation of the Villages as Businesses program is one of the creative moments in the neoliberalization of Jamaica. An examination of women’s everyday geographies reveals that class divides deepen and result in limited socio-economic mobility of working-class women. I also examined how the landscape and culture of each community are objectified as authentic representations of Jamaican culture. However, findings reveal that CCT creates positive affective geographies through residents’ emotions of hope and pride.