Managing guest security in a high‐violence society: The case of the Jamaican hospitality industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore security management in the hospitality sector of Jamaica.

Design/methodology approach

The paper is based on a combination of available documentary sources and in‐depth interviews conducted with key players in the fields of law enforcement, security management and hospitality in Jamaica.

Findings

Jamaica's image as a tourism destination has been severely damaged by reports of its high murder rates. With the exception of tourism harassment however, visitors to the island are largely unaffected by crime. This outcome is not accidental; rather it is the result of a social consensus combined with a well‐articulated, comprehensive, long‐term crime management strategy involving multiple stakeholders ranging from the level of government to the individual hospitality establishment. Despite these positives however, the paper expresses serious doubts about the sustainability of the existing tourism and hospitality model.

Research limitations/implications

The study is qualitative in nature and focuses on the hospitality sector in the major commercial centre and one of the major resort centres. Both have been characterised by high levels of criminal violence in the last decade. As such the results may offer important insights into crime management and tourism development but cannot be generalised.

Practical implications

The paper carries significant implications for policy in that it analyses the challenges of security management in a tourism destination marked by severe and complex and social contradictions.

Originality/value

Despite the enormity of the public discourse on the impact of crime on tourism, there has been little scholarly analysis of the challenges of security management in an environment marked simultaneously by extreme tourism dependence and extreme levels of criminal violence.

Citation

Cowell, N.M., McDavid, H. and Saunders, T.S. (2012), "Managing guest security in a high‐violence society: The case of the Jamaican hospitality industry", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 32-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554211211198570