A PGIS approach to unearthing Manchester’s Cultural Heritage “gold mine”

Abstract: Cultural heritage tourism is regarded as one avenue that can be used to stimulate the economic viability of an area; this is strongly believed by the tourism proponents in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica. With a lagging economy, and various studies done in the area, there has been no significant movement by policy makers towards implementing a sustainable tourism product, much to the ire of the stakeholders within the parish. These proponents believe that with some aid from the government, much of the cultural heritage resources in the parish can be developed into economically sustainable tourism. This project utilizes a technological approach using PGIS techniques to map the major cultural heritage sites in the parish using a web map application, with the assistance of members of the Parish DAs. The aim of the mapping workshop was to investigate whether, as these proponents believe, there are significant heritage resources that can be developed into economically sustainable tourism sites and if they do exist, what experience do they present for visitors (cultural heritage "gold mine"). The project further investigates how these sites fit into the National Trust for Heritage Preservation's five basic principles for heritage tourism, by using these principles as the main assessment criteria for heritage tourism in the study area. The result of the paper shows that there are a significant number of cultural heritage sites in the parish as identified by workshop attendees, in varying conditions, however none currently offers an experience that is wholesome enough on its own to generate significant revenues from cultural heritage tourism activities. Of the five NTHP principles, the results show that while there are some criteria that are being met, there are still significant areas that need to be addressed before the parish can be fully regarded as a "heritage gold mine". The research concludes that while there are still much inroads left for the prospect of seeing significant revenues from cultural heritage sites, much promise lies in the present sites, the stakeholder efforts currently being made and the prospect of using GIS technology as a tool to assist with the process, as opposed to the current manual system. It is therefore encouraged that further development towards this initiative is viable.