Above: World Bank Jamaica Representative Giorgio Valentini in Kingston (JIS Photo)

Jamaica is looking at so-called community-based tourism in an effort to boost employment for people in rural Jamaica, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett announced Thursday.

The project, which is being coordinated with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, is being funded by the Jamaican government and the World BAnk through a $15 million loan.

“The policy will target these shortcomings by providing appropriate approaches to planning and management for such entities as well as institutional arrangements, technical assistance and support,” Bartlett said.

While tourism remain’s Jamaica’s primary foreign exchange earner and drives its economy, Bartlett said there was still “considerable potential” for further growth.

He pointed to a 2007 USAID-REACT report showing that a number of visitors, particularly from Europe, come to Jamaica for nature and adventure tours.