JAMAICA

JAMAICA: Teal blue waters, brilliantly white sandy beaches, scintillating cuisine, globally renown rum and Blue Mountain coffee. One hundred fifty years under Spanish rule and then three hundred years under English dominion.

Early iconic grand hotels. Then world-renowned boutique hotels. Now, spectacular all-inclusive resorts.

Hippies came to 7-mile beaches of Negril and made it the “Capital of Casual.” Bob Marley spread reggae music worldwide and became a major tourism promoter for the island adding to the glitz from the English celebrities of the 1950s who came to the North Coast.

Errol Flynn, Noel Coward, and Ian Fleming attracted jet setters to the island as did fictional super spy James Bond, Agent 007.

Tourism growth and development, measured and conservative, free-flowing and exuberant – all existing in a dynamic, remarkable and one-of-a-kind setting.

Jamaica, a cacophony of sights and delights. Ya mon, come to Jamaica, an island paradise that has it all.

For this work, Tony partnered with another Caribbean expert and former coauthor. It was only natural these two longtime colleagues would team up to write this first book dedicated solely to the history of tourism in Jamaica. The result is exceptional! 

Thomas R. Panko (Ph.D., Sociology) is a Caribbean authority. Tom co-founded the University of Southern Mississippi Caribbean Studies Program in Jamaica and served as the program’s director during its initial seven years. He first visited Jamaica in 1985; the people and the culture of the country have been the allure that has caused his return to the island in excess of twenty-five times. Tom is Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern Mississippi.