Passa Passa: downtown tourism brand

Tourists at Passa Passa (Photos: Gabriel Holzner/www.seen-site.com)

To outsiders Miles Enterprises at 47 1/2 might have been just another address on Spanish Town Road in Tivoli Gardens, west Kingston. But thanks to younger members of the Miles family, that established the business in the 1940's, the stretch of street outside the store has become a favourite destination amongst the relative handful of tourists who venture into the capital and its cultural hotspots.

Each Wednesday night, or rather early the next morning when it really gets going, Passa Passa regularly draws tourists and uptown/downtown partygoers all interested in attending an authentic street dance, safely. Now, Swatch International - the family sound system started by Oneil Miles, which provides the music at Passa - want to leverage more out of the brand, believing that it is a model for community tourism and has the potential to generate significant revenue.

Admittance to Passa, is of course like any other street dance, free of charge. But believes Oneil Miless cousin Dylan Powe, who is responsible for Swatchs international bookings and marketing, the strength of the Passa brand means that after four years Swatch should contend for a greater share of the entertainment market, here and abroad.

The long term plan is to grow Passa into a truly international event with sub-events occurring in different communities throughout the country and throughout the world along the lines of what Reggae Splash did in the 80s with Japan Splash and touring in the United States. I think its a good brand to put globally and then with all the associated benefits of having of brand to be able to carry different artists and cultural entities - being able to replicate a piece of inner city Jamaican dancehall brand wherever we take it, said Powe.

The Passa story is well documented: that it is hosted in Tivoli Gardens, the so-called 'mother-of-all garisons', yet has recorded no single act of violence during its four years of operation.

Kingston is devoid of tourist attraction and what we have done is to give a weekly tourist attractions and people who who would otherwise have stayed in Montego Bay or Negril, will find their way up to Kingston on a Wednesday night, said Powe.

It shows that Jamaica could be a tourist-friendly destination instead of tourists being caged into the all-inclusives. People are on their best behaviour (towards the tourists) and they have an incentive in how their community is perceived. Its something that should be embraced as a model for community development.

This popularity, and international media coverage, has helped Swatch get bookings abroad where Powe has prior experience. After graduating from New York's Columbia University in the early 1990's, he worked as an A&R for Big Beat/Atlantic records, signing the likes of Dawn Penn, Garnett Silk and Inner Circle to Atlantic Records, in between stints as a radio disc jockey.

Cross-promotion with local brands should also be a possibility, he believes.