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IIPT Caribbean Chapter

Jamaica and the Caribbean, Home of Community Tourism

IIPT Chapter · Jamaica and the Caribbean

Peace, one village at a time

The Caribbean Chapter was IIPT’s first chapter outside North America. From its home in Mandeville, Jamaica, it uses community tourism to bring visitors and local people together, so that travel creates income, pride and peace in the places where people live.

The chapter is led by its founding President, Diana McIntyre-Pike, who began pioneering community tourism in Jamaica in 1978. Working hand in hand with the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network and its Villages as Businesses programme (CCTN/VAB), the chapter trains local entrepreneurs, dedicates IIPT Peace Parks and helps towns and villages commit themselves to peace.

Its roots go back to 1989, when the first Caribbean conference on socially and environmentally responsible tourism was held in the Bahamas, six months after IIPT’s first global conference in Vancouver. The initiative, spearheaded by IIPT board member Markly Wilson, gave the region a new focus on sustainable tourism and led to the founding of IIPT’s Caribbean Chapter.

Our story

Four decades of community tourism

  1. 1978
    Diana McIntyre-Pike begins pioneering community tourism in Jamaica.
  2. 1989
    The first Caribbean conference on socially and environmentally responsible tourism is held in the Bahamas, featuring IIPT founder Louis D’Amore.
  3. 1994
    The IIPT Caribbean Chapter is founded with Diana McIntyre-Pike as President, and Jamaica is branded the “Home of Community Tourism”.
  4. 2003
    The first IIPT Caribbean Conference on Peace through Tourism is held in Jamaica, 23–26 May, with a focus on community tourism as a path to sustainable community development.
  5. 2013
    Mandeville becomes the Caribbean’s first IIPT/Skål Peace Town, with the Brooks Park Sports and Recreational Complex dedicated as its Peace Park. At the chapter’s community tourism conference that year, Louis D’Amore presents Diana McIntyre-Pike with the IIPT Lifetime Achievement Award, and IIPT and Countrystyle extend the “Home of Community Tourism” brand to the whole Caribbean.
  6. 2016
    Diana McIntyre-Pike is inducted into the African Diaspora World Tourism Hall of Fame in Atlanta, alongside Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.
  7. 2018
    IIPT declares an International Year of Community Tourism, honouring Diana’s 40 years of pioneering work. The chapter holds an International Community Tourism Conference at the UWI Mona Visitors’ Lodge, Kingston, on 12–15 November.
  8. 2025
    Hurricane Melissa strikes Jamaica. The chapter shares news from affected communities and plans for their recovery.
  9. 2026
    CCRP of Jamaica honours Diana McIntyre-Pike for community empowerment, and the two-year “Jamaica & the Caribbean, Home of Community Tourism” campaign gets under way.
What we do

Community tourism for peace

The chapter’s programmes are run with CCTN/VAB and community partners across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

IIPT/Skål Peace Towns and Villages

Towns and villages commit to non-violence, gender equality, human rights, youth empowerment and care for the environment, and each one dedicates an IIPT Peace Park.

Members include Mandeville and villages in Jamaica, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands, St Vincent and Trinidad.

Villages as Businesses

With CCTN/VAB, communities receive training, marketing and business development, and welcome visitors through Community Lifestyle Experience tours.

Supporters can “Adopt a Village” or “Pick a Project”.

Academy for Community Tourism

Training in basic hospitality skills and community tourism entrepreneurship. In 2018 the Academy and UWI Open Campus trained 20 community entrepreneurs.

Manchester Peace Coalition

Born from the 2013 Peace Town dedication and chaired by Dr. Clifton Reid, the coalition works with at-risk communities across Manchester parish, holds an annual Peace Week and runs the PEACE FUND.

Home of Community Tourism

The 2026–2027 campaign, led by CCTN/VAB and endorsed by IIPT, with founder Dr. Louis D’Amore as Patron, promotes travel that sustains local enterprise, preserves culture and empowers communities.

About the campaign →

Africa and the Diaspora

In June 2026 CCTN/VAB, with IIPT’s endorsement, appointed Dr. Tengol K. Kplemani as Ambassador for Africa, to strengthen cultural and tourism ties between Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora.

Gallery

The chapter at work

“Recognized as a World Tourism Network Hero, Diana McIntyre-Pike stands as one of the most influential pioneers of community tourism in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.”

Juergen SteinmetzPublisher, eTurboNews
Contact

Get involved in the Caribbean

Visit a Peace Village, support a community project or bring your town into the IIPT/Skål Peace Towns and Villages programme. Write to IIPT and we will put you in touch with the chapter.

In your email, please include:

  • Your name, and your organisation if you have one
  • Where you are based
  • How you would like to be involved
Diana McIntyre-Pike President, IIPT Caribbean Chapter
Ajay Prakash IIPT Global President ajay@iipt.org
Andreas Larentzakis IIPT Executive Director andreas@iipt.org
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