By Egeton Newman, Freelance WriterPRESIDENT OF the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), Caribbean Chapter, Diana McIntyre-Pike, has called on Jamaicans and non-governmental organisations to help in removing the lawlessness from our communities so as to develop our tourism product.
"We have been blessed with a country with a mixture that makes Jamaica one of the most beautiful places on earth and we need to take it back from those few who are trying to destroy it," Mrs. McIntyre-Pike said.
Addressing a tourism seminar put on by the Caribbean Agency for Fashion and Entertainment (CAFE) last Wednesday, Mrs. McIntyre-Pike, who is also chief executive officer of Country Style Tourism in Mandeville, said she is tired of hearing about what is happening in other countries and that "we need to talk about Jamaica and what we can do to reclaim and build it."
"Don't talk about we are going back, going back where?" she queried. "We are going back nowhere. Jamaica is ours and we are going to make it the best place for ourselves and our visitors."
Mrs. McIntyre-Pike said the International Institute for Peace through Tourism and the Sustainable Communities Foundation is committed to assist community groups and organisations in providing grants and low-interest funding for tourism product development and in making the community a better place for everyone.
The Caribbean Agency for Fashion and Entertainment is a 40-member modelling and fashion group, which is involved in tourism promotion islandwide under the National Youth and Community Tourism Organisation.
