Meet Sam. Sam is a successful mango farmer in Jamaica, who is now diversifying into tourism, hoping to sell accommodation and excursions to international tourists. With a great location, a signed tour of the farm, short guided walks, and a cooking demonstration on offer, plus a booming tourism industry that brings over four million international visitors to the country each year, Sam has a great opportunity to make a successful business. But what Sam doesn’t have is experience of, or access to, the tourism market.
Sam and his business are in fact a fictional case study designed by the Travel Foundation as part of training for micro, tourist-facing businesses in Jamaica – part of a TUI Care Foundation initiative to ‘Big Up Small Business’. Last month, over 250 people running micro businesses completed this training which aims to provide them with new opportunities to access the tourism market, including understanding how to meet international requirements and market themselves to tourists.