Meet the People Program
For travelers seeking insight into the Jamaican experience and the warm welcome of a Jamaican friend, the island's Meet-the-People program provides an ideal option, taking them way beyond the traditional resort and beach setting into the colorful realm of Jamaica's lifestyle, tradition and culture. The Jamaica Tourist
Board (JTB) has
re-launched this popular program, originally introduced in1968, reaching out to
visitors curious to explore the culture of this vibrant Caribbean island.
Enriching
Experience of Hospitality
Visitors wishing to take part in the
Meet-the-People program are teamed up with Jamaican hosts or volunteers who
share a common profession, hobby or interest.
In true Jamaican fashion, these volunteers offer a hand of friendship
and hospitality to visitors who genuinely want to know Jamaicans and the
Jamaican way of life. Meet the People allows the visitor to meet a Jamaican who
can enhance enjoyment of the real Jamaica.
Guests may get to meet a family, get to know a fellow musician,
businessman, photographer, nurse, teacher or artist, or participate in a wide
range of activities, such as hiking, shopping at a local craft market, enjoying
a simple Jamaican meal, visiting a church, a clubhouse or theater, touring the
countryside or even accompanying the host on daily errands.
Whatever the focus, these outings are
uniquely Jamaican, providing an island
experience that only locals can create and a pathway to the unique aspects of
Jamaica's rich endearing heritage in people, culture, music, cuisine and
natural landscape.
Unforgettable experiences of Jamaica
continue to linger through Meet-the-People encounters. In March 1976, the Jamaica Tourist Board
adopted the forget-me-not flower as the symbol of the program. The flower grows wild all over Jamaica,
especially in the cooler areas, producing white, pink, or blue blossoms. It was selected to reinforce the significance
of the people-to-people contact, after which each person can truly say to the
other, "It was a wonderful time of togetherness. Forget me not."
International
Friendships Blossom
Deputy Director of Tourism - Marketing -
David Shields is enthusiastic about the Meet- the-People revitalization. "This is an excellent way for our visitors
to explore Jamaican culture," he commented, "and can be very rewarding
for visitors and hosts alike. In many
cases, the friendships that have grown out of these social gatherings have
flourished for decades and led to subsequent trips in both directions!
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