The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

JUNKANOO costs the country more than $18 million per year, $10m of which is unwaged labour and personal contributions, according to a new College of the Bahamas study.  

Conducted by cultural anthropologist Dr Nicolette Bethel with the help of COB students, the study highlights the untapped economic potential of the festival, noting that the costs of hosting it far outweigh the revenue it generates, with ticket sales for the parades averaging below $1 million annually.

Confirming years of established conjecture, the study indicates that the festival diverges from similar major festivals in the region in its failure to produce a high return on investments.

It also conservatively estimates that it costs Junkanoo practitioners at least $3,400 in labour and $1,000 in materials per person each season to participate in the two major Junkanoo festivals.

The paper, “The Economic Impact of Junkanoo in the Bahamas,” is featured in the latest edition of the International Journal of Bahamian Studies.

In it, Dr Bethel writes: “While recent survey data indicates that Bahamians consider Junkanoo to be very important or essential to Bahamian national identity, the festival still struggles to attract the kind of investment that will generate the kinds of returns seen in festivals elsewhere.”

The study reveals the parades have weak links to tourism, with relatively few tourists aware of its existence.

Dr Bethel writes: “Ministry of Tourism officials believe that there is no need to promote Junkanoo to tourists, as during the Christmas season hotels are full.

“A study of 197 tourists in 2010 indicated that although 35 per cent of tourists had heard of Junkanoo, only nine per cent of them had attended the parades.”

Nonetheless, the study notes that Junkanoo makes considerable contributions to the wider economy by generating employment and creating linkages among otherwise unrelated industries.

While Junkanoo provides little financial gain to its practitioners, Dr Bethel, during a presentation on the paper at COB yesterday, noted that for many, participating in the festival remains a very fulfilling experience.

“There are very few things in our societies that are self-reifying activities - Junkanoo is that one thing that exists as this for people who take part in it,” she said. “It affirms their identity, their right to be in the world. The happiness factor is very high. I know that I’ve talked to people who’ve said that we had to make a decision between replacing a washer or dryer, and doing our Junkanoo costume.”

The findings presented in Dr Bethel’s paper comprises results from 13 studies conducted between 2009 and 2013. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used.