Kingston, Jamaica – Jamaica will need to increase access to capital in an effort to boost investment by Jamaicans in the tourism sector, says Minister McNeil.
Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill is calling on players in the financial sector to make capital more readily available to local investors so they can tap into the tremendous opportunities now available in the booming tourism sector.
Addressing the Mayberry Investor Forum on Thursday, Dec. 3rd the Minister emphasized that these investments could be either direct investment in tourism or by exploiting its linkages with other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and entertainment.
Major Hotel Growth In Jamaica
His comments come against the background of a steady flow of investment in hotels in Jamaica, both by local and foreign investors with some J$64 billion in investments since 2012.
Minister McNeill explained that “over 2500 rooms are currently under construction or are now at advanced planning stages. “We also have another 7,000 rooms confirmed that will come on-stream within the next 4 to 10 years. These include 4,000 rooms to be added by the Karisma Group, 2,500 which will be added by China Harbour and 800 rooms which will be added by Ocean by H10.”
“Our tourism sector is enjoying unprecedented expansion. This investment wave is bigger in scope than anything we have ever seen before. But while this is happening more Jamaicans should look at the tourism sector as a great area for investment and can reap healthy returns,” he added.
The Minister also urged Corporate Jamaica to take advantage of these opportunities. He believes many Jamaicans want to invest in tourism but lack capital. “We need to establish systems to facilitate investment in the tourism sector. So I am encouraging corporate Jamaica to open the doors”, he said.
“We have to put management and capital together. We have to figure out the ways to do it. I think average Jamaicans would like to be in tourism. There is no reason why a company cannot be set up that could go public to raise capital similar to the X Fund but in a more direct way”, he explained.
He added that “there are opportunities under the Fiscal Incentives Act to develop attractions and upgrade smaller properties and take them up to four and five star. But many of persons just don’t have the capital. So what we need players in Corporate Jamaica to do is to put systems in place to provide access to capital.”
