Monday, March 9, 2009

Jamaica Tourism up 3 Percent





Jamaica Attracts More Visitors So Far This Year

Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett held an impromptu press luncheon in Manhattan on Monday and spoke bullishly of Jamaica’s 3 percent visitor growth of this February over last February. So far, he says, 2009 is tracking 4 percent higher in arrivals than 2008. “Yields have not been great,” he said, “but in a buyer’s market, that’s to be expected. The UNWTO is marveling at our performance.” He pointed out that in this difficult economy, “tourism is the only growth industry in the Caribbean and it remains the No. 1 earner of foreign exchange in Jamaica. While bauxite sales have fallen 30 to 40 percent, tourism continues to maintain job security for its 80,000 direct Jamaican employees. Our biggest challenge lies in our ability to maintain airlift. Some airlines are demanding guarantees; some are requesting 50 pounds per seat.”

According to Bartlett, there are three major bidders for Air Jamaica, which is scheduled to be sold by the government by the end of March. He spoke of other airlines filling the breech left by recent Air Jamaica route cuts. “Delta will increase its service to Montego Bay out of Atlanta. U.S. gateways are well served by Delta, Continental, USAir, Jet Blue and American. Our next biggest challenge is to maintain the quality of the experience, because in a buyer’s market, value is extremely important.” He cited Sandals and SuperClubs as local brands that have had success in delivering new product that is “exciting the market.”

Bartlett described the market as a multi-tiered pyramid whose bottom tier has fallen out. “In this environment what was considered luxury is now mid-market and what was mid-market is now selling at bargain price points,” he said. “It’s hard to make predictions because we don’t know how this economic situation will play out. What’s certain is that this situation will change the architecture of tourism as we know it.” He noted that the Jamaican government is helping small hotels with tax reductions and low interest loans to help them survive.

“Some of the smaller players may be edged out. That will be inevitable if you have low yield combined with low volume. One or two developments have fallen out. The Trident Hotel refurbishment has halted but the Harmony Cove is on track. The development of Port Royal is ongoing as is the Falmouth development. Jamaica’s location, its political stability and its enormous resources still make it attractive to investors,” Bartlett said. He noted increased interest from Chinese investors who may have taken a greater notice of Jamaica after the performance of Jamaican athletes during the Beijing Olympics. “Their performance created a kind of bond between the countries,” he said. For more information, call 800-JAMAICA or visit www.visitjamaica.com

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