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This exploratory paper argues that there is a need to rethink the issue of black entrepreneurship in the Caribbean. It contends that part of the problem with many of the discussions on black entrepreneurship in the Caribbean is that they have tended to focus on traditional areas of entrepreneurship. This means that other categories of business – the knowledge, culture/entertainment sectors and micro and small enterprises – are often ignored in these discussions. Yet, these are areas in which Afro‐Caribbean people have, historically, established cultural spaces. Therefore, it is being suggested that there is a need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of entrepreneurial activity in these areas, and account for the reasons why black entrepreneurs have not, in larger numbers, expanded beyond their traditional cultural spaces. To do so, there is a need to enter the world of the black entrepreneur and to discover that world. It is necessary to understand his/her definition of that world, and then see how s/he perceives opportunities and barriers to entrepreneurial success. In general, this paper calls for both a methodological and theoretical shift to the way in which the study of black entrepreneurship in the Caribbean is conducted.

This paper argues that tourism development in Belize should avoid going the traditional mass tourism route of most Caribbean destinations. Instead, it suggests that Belize is at the appropriate stage in its development to forge an alternative model, which draws and builds on its geographical location, history, culture and ecology. In making this case, the paper identifies a number of limiting and facilitating factors to tourism development. These facilitating factors recommend the alternative model. Specifically, the alternative model includes nature, education and community tourism; and a type of cruise tourism that is linked to education and culture. For this effort to succeed, the paper recommends that government and civil society work together to develop the country’s human resources and to structure a strategy to achieve the goals.

This paper aims to conclude the theme issues and identify the respective contributions from each paper to identifying the risks, challenges and policy options posed by crime and terrorism for tourism development.

The paper reviews the conclusions and practical implications of research, secondary analysis and interviews with practitioners.

The theme issue advocates a combination of both hard and soft policing measures and educational programs targeting youth which emphasise the avoidance of criminal behaviour; improving planning and decision making mechanisms with regard to security measures; and the implementation of a fully integrated national security system, which recognizes tourist security as part of the larger national security for all citizens.

At the broader policy level, the theme issue recommends that governments aim to achieve a more equitable distribution of the earnings from tourism nationally and greater focus on impoverished communities, especially in close proximity to the tourist resorts.

The paper draws on extensive secondary analysis to examine the relationships between crime, terrorism and tourism development and identifies the key issues and policy options for industry and government stakeholders.

This paper examines some of the trends, issues and challenges associated with tourism development in Jamaica. It argues that for the tourism product to be more competitive, there is a need to rethink the kind of tourism product currently on offer to the world. It is being suggested that Jamaican tourism planners, drawing on the experiences of a number of countries, should concentrate more on the culture and history of Jamaica, making sure they involve different segments of civil society in the development process. Only then will tourism reach its full potential and become a sustainable industry in the country.

The purpose of this paper is to explain why national security should not be segregated from tourism security, especially in small island states.

The paper draws on the Christopher “Dudus” Coke saga of 2010 in Jamaica to show how urban security issues can impact on security in tourism areas. It also draws on critical pieces of the literature to make the case.

The social upheaval created by the Christopher Coke saga led to a reduction in visitor arrivals in the capital city of Kingston and in corporate hotels close to where the security operations took place. Estimates indicate that in some cases revenue from tourism was down by 11 percent. This impact was not as significant for areas outside of Kingston, although some flights were initially cancelled.

This paper draws on the Christopher Coke case in support of the argument that in small states all aspects of national security should be seen as being intimately linked to tourism security.

This chapter explores the data exchange relationships between stakeholders in a tourism domain as a means of assessing the potential application of open data initiatives. Social network analysis is utilized to analyze network relationships and explain the pattern and consequences of these relationships. Based on centrality and other network attributes, the analysis highlights the key influencers in the tourism data ecosystem examined, and suggests that initial steps towards implementing a tourism open data policy should focus on opening up tourism asset data, and relaxing current restrictive data exchange practices. The agency with responsibility for collecting and disseminating tourism asset data, is well positioned to become the data broker in an emergent tourism open data ecosystem.

The aims of this paper are to examine how violent crimes and harassment have impacted the tourism and hospitality industry in Jamaica, and to evaluate the approaches that the government has employed in reducing the level of crimes and harassment against tourists on the island.

A qualitative approach was employed as the focus for this study. Surveys of residents, business entrepreneurs, and tourists at two resort areas in Jamaica were sources of data for this paper.

The findings suggest that moving towards sustainability of the tourism industry in Jamaica requires immediate, radical changes in attitudes, values and practices of the business community, the government and the media, as well as cooperation from local residents.

The city of Kingston, which is considered to be highly prone to violent crimes, was not considered in this study. The time frame of the study did not allow for this, and so the research focus was more on resort areas.

With the problems of crime and harassment being reported in both the local and foreign news, the tourism industry in Jamaica has suffered not only from bad publicity but also from the perception of Jamaica as a dangerous destination.

The paper concludes that, while the tourism industry has been impacted negatively as a result of the increase in the number of violent crimes and harassment, less attention has been paid to both the immediate and remote causes of these problems.