The tourism industry performed admirably in 2010, despite the challenges of the world recession, which impacted the pockets of travellers worldwide.
Having received in excess of 1.91 million visitors from stop-over arrivals up to December 2010, a 4.7 per cent increase over the 1.83 million visitors who came in 2009, Jamaica consolidated its position as one of the most sought after vacation destinations in the Caribbean.
The country’s coffers benefitted tremendously from the increase in arrivals, with gross foreign exchange earnings of US$1.986 billion, a 3.2 per cent increase over the US$1.925 billion earned in 2009.
The growth resulted from the priority given to the sector, particularly in the second half of the year when Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett and his team, with a US$10 million stimulus package, led a promotional blitz into the prime blue ribbon North American and European markets.
The range of activities incorporated advertising as well as meetings with various stakeholder interests, including the Jamaican Diaspora, in major cities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which account for approximately 95 per cent of visitor arrivals.
Consequent on these initiatives, Minister Bartlett told journalists at a media briefing in November that the island recorded over 200,000 stop over and cruise ship visitors during the July to September quarter, representing a 7.7 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period last year. With cruise ship and stop over arrivals recording 19.3 and 3.7 per cent increases, respectively, for the quarter, he described this as the best performance for any period by the sector over the past five years.
Additionally, the Minister advised that preliminary figures for October stop over and cruise ship arrivals also reflected increases of 4.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.
“What we are seeing, therefore, is the culmination of strategies and careful ‘husbanding’ of a sector that is so important to us, showing growth, and also indicating what we in tourism know, which is the resilience of tourism, and its ability to bounce back quickly after adversity,” Mr. Bartlett said.
He projected that while some slowing down in tourism growth was anticipated globally, consequent on the effects of the recession, particularly during the last quarter of the year 2010, the local industry is expected to end the year averaging four per cent growth in visitors arrivals. The availability of some one million airlift seats with international airlines, through partnerships, is expected to boost the sector.
Mr. Bartlett told journalists that 700,000 of these seats are expected out of the United States, and approximately 200,000 from Canada. He also advised that the advertising and promotional campaign would continue.
Jamaica continued to be at the forefront of CARICOM’s lobby seeking a review of the provisions of the Airline Passenger Duty (APD) regime by the British Government. This came against the background of what CARICOM Heads of Government and stakeholders described as a disparity in the rates charged for the United States, as against that for Caribbean states, which are positioned in the same general hemispheric area.
Billed by the British government as an environmental tax, to address the issue of carbon emissions from jet liners during trans-Atlantic flights, the APD places countries in charging bands, with the applicable calculated rates based on the distance between their capitals and London.
However, Caribbean states have, been placed in a higher band (C) than the United States (B), which, according to regional states, places them at a disadvantage. The rate for United States destinations, such as Los Angeles and Hawaii, which are farther than Caribbean locations, are similar to the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C., which has raised concern.
Jamaica was instrumental in leading the development of a tourism strategy for earthquake-ravaged Haiti’s economic recovery. Mr. Bartlett informed that the strategy, dubbed the Montego Bay Initiative, would be formulated off elements of Jamaica’s Tourism Master Plan, and would seek to position tourism as one of the main pillars for Haiti’s economic development, the others being agriculture and light manufacturing.
On the home front, several activities and initiatives were undertaken or shortlisted for execution as part of efforts to enhance the tourism product and make the Jamaican vacation, the experience of a lifetime, both for visitors and locals.
These activities included upgrading of the Bath and Milk River spas in St. Thomas and Clarendon, respectively, at a cost of $250 million; implementation of phase four works under the ‘Spruce Up Jamaica’ Campaign, contracted to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to effect all-island bushing, cutting of medians and verges along roadways, and the carting of debris in Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios, over a one-year period, at a cost of $100 million.
Heritage tourism also got a boost with the re-opening of the historic Devon House in St. Andrew, which was refurbished over a two and a half years at a cost of approximately $102 million, with funding provided by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).
Also completed were phase one works under the Port Royal Restoration project. Funded by the TEF at a cost of over $72 million, the phase included rehabilitation of key monuments, including: St. Peter’s Anglican Church and Fort Charles, as well as the building of an audio visual theatre at the historic Naval Hospital. The monuments were formally handed over, for management, to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture during a ceremony at the hospital in June.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Bartlett said the restoration represented an integral part of the thrust to develop Kingston as an ideal cultural tourism destination.
The year also saw an increase in the number of flights into the island, primarily when American jet liners, Tran Airways and Jet Blue, commenced operations between the United States and Jamaica. These arrangements yielded a significant number of daily and weekly flights, direct and connecting, between various US destinations and Jamaica.
Minister Bartlett said Jamaica is also expected to benefit from an increase in the number of weekly flights between Canada and Jamaica during the 2010/11 winter tourist season, which ends in April 2011.
In an effort to position the sector as a significant catalyst for national economic growth, Minister Bartlett announced the establishment of a special Task Force, which he said would “lead the process of determining the aggregate demand for goods and services in the tourist industry.”
The membership comprised: Chief Operating Officer, GraceKennedy, Don Wehby; businessman, Michael Lee Chin; Consultant, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Derrick Deslandes; President, Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA), Omar Azan; General Manager, Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), Earl Jarrett; Director General, Statistical Institute of Jamaica, Sonia Jackson; and President, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Wayne Cummings.
The Minister explained that the group would oversee research that would provide empirical evidence of the linkages between tourism and other sectors of the economy. He added that this, in turn, would enable them to better produce for, and supply the sector.
Minister Bartlett’s hard work in safeguarding Jamaica’s tourism product and legacy, by leading from the front, did not go unnoticed, as he was conferred with the Spanish honour of Commander of Number of the Order of Civil Merit of Spain by immediate past Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jesus Silva.
The Minister was recognised for “his efforts at strengthening the relationship between Spain and Jamaica in his current portfolio responsibility, as well as during his tenure as Opposition Spokesman for Tourism.”
“Minister Bartlett has played a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operations of the Spanish investment projects in the tourism sector,” a citation from the Spanish the Embassy stated. It also noted that, since 2006, Spain has occupied “one of the leading spots in the list of foreign investors in Jamaica.”
Spanish investment in the tourism industry has added almost 6,000 rooms, and resulted in the creation of over 7,000 direct jobs and some 20,000 indirect jobs.