This is Jamaica’s message to you-ou-ou

I have an urgent message for travel agents from a reggae artist I met on a bus in Jamaica. "Tell your readers to tell their clients coming to Jamaica not to stay in their all-inclusive hotels, please please tell them to come and see the real Jamaica," he said.

This man – I can’t remember his name – isn’t concerned that tourists aren’t spending money outside the hotels, after all, he’s paid by these places to play to their guests in the evenings. No, he’s worried that visitors who don’t venture from their sunloungers aren’t experiencing much of what the island has to offer.

And he has a point. If all your clients want is a great beach and an affordable hotel with cheesy entertainment, a few watersports and an eat-your-bodyweight style buffet, there are plenty of other cheaper destinations that will suit their needs very well.

If, however, they also want stunning scenery, a dash of excitement and a splash of culture, Jamaica is arguably one of the best islands in the Caribbean. During a three-day visit to the JAPEX travel trade exhibition in Ocho Rios, the adventure capital of Jamaica, I went horse-back riding in the sea, tubing down the White River and toured two plantations (although, TBH, one would have been enough).

If I’d had time, I could also have taken a bike tour of the Blue Mountain, swum with dolphins, taken a bobsled ride (on rails, not ice, obviously), ridden a zip wire at Dunn’s River Falls and toured Bob Marley’s birthplace. Unfortunately you’d need at least a week to enjoy everything on offer just at Ocho Rios, let alone the rest of the island.

It’s a cliché, I know, but one of Jamaica’s main attractions is its people. Everyone from the woman who cleaned my room to the taxi driver who drove me to the centre of Ocho Rios one afternoon provided the sort of laid-back friendly yet efficient service that’s unique to the island. Waiters high-fived me, tour guides sang to me (mainly Bob Marley hits) and everywhere I went I was called "my lady".

Jamaicans – at least the 25% who earn their living directly or indirectly from tourism – want to make sure their visitors enjoy themselves. The guides who took us riding whooped and sang as our horses plunged into a lagoon; the guys who steered us down the White River in rubber tubes took pains to point out all the interesting wildlife – hidden orchids, wild garlic, birds of paradise, pimento trees, a blue heron and a kingfisher – while also spinning us through the rapids.

Jamaicans know too that they can’t depend on their beautiful beaches and Bob Marley, their most famous son (until Usain Bolt sprinted on to the scene), to bring in the tourists so they’re slowly adding more attractions. An example of this can be found at the 1,000 acre Prospect Plantation, where recent additions include camel rides and an ostrich farm in case the sight of Donald shinning a tree to gather coconuts, which he then shells in the blink of an eye, isn’t interesting enough for those who take the tour of the Great House and its grounds.

Getting around in Ocho Rios is easy; some tours will collect guests directly from their hotels, otherwise it’s safe to take licensed taxis (although these are surprisingly expensive, I paid £12 for a 10-minute ride).

Still, far too many visitors stick within the confines of the all-inclusive resorts. It’s easy to see why. Couples Tower Isle (pictured left) , located in St Mary just outside Ocho Rios, is typical of these upscale resorts that boast such such stunning sandy beaches, so many on-the-spot activities such as scuba diving, snorkelling and paddle boarding, cocktails and the click of a finger, and buffets groaning with food that it can be hard to drag yourself away. However, you might want to tell your clients to at least try.