Following a very active hurricane season, which included the deadly category four Hurricane Ivan, which hit the island in September last year, the tourism sector remains a very active and buoyant one with even brighter prospects for 2005/06.
According to State Minister for Industry and Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill in a recent JIS Interview, Dr. McNeill says that one of the good things to come out of Hurricane Ivan is improvement in the tourism product, as properties were able to overhaul their properties.
“A lot of the properties that were going to be refurbished, because we have been having good season for the last two years, they have not had a chance to do heavy overhauling of their properties, so one of the things that we found is that a lot of properties took the opportunity to really refurbish and make some meaningful changes,” he points out.
He says that up to September 2004, the targeted eight per cent increase in arrivals was on track and despite the setback caused by Hurricane Ivan, a little over half of that target was met.” This is pretty remarkable when you consider that there was an increase over a good year, even though there was a hurricane”. Most of the damage to the industry, although not extensive, was concentrated in the south and western side of the island.
Meanwhile, the State Minister says that the 2005 season has started off “phenomenally well”, with excellent arrival figures for spring break. “We are set to see the targeted 8 per cent growth for this year. All in all, we had a setback from Ivan, but we make the best of a bad situation, in that we used it for a good purpose and it will enhance us as we move forward”.
Turning to the industry portfolio, the State Minister says that most of the adverse effects were felt in the agro-processing sector, as a result of losses to agriculture. “So, in a lot of cases, people who do tinning and canning and preserving had to be very creative and a lot of importation had to take place”, he points out.
However, he says, “the good thing is that it adjusted very quickly, and the indications are that recovery has been quick. In terms of agriculture, it is going to take us a while to get back to where we were. As much as possible, we are moving on and we are hoping to see the industry side of things back on track 100 per cent”.
Stopover arrivals to the island increased by 5.5 per cent from January to November 2004, with 1,278,921 visitors. Of that number, 71 per cent came from the United States, seven per cent from Canada and 17 per cent from the United Kingdom and Europe combined.
With respect to cruise shipping, the same period saw a total of 966,022 cruise passengers arriving, from 414 cruise calls, which represented a slight decline in comparison to the similar period in 2003.
Addressing a Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) press conference at Caribbean Marketplace 2005 in Montego Bay, Dr. McNeill underscored the government’s recognition of the importance of the tourism industry to the island’s economy. He made special mention of the Tourism Master Plan, adding that the aim was to make the tourism product inclusive while development took place. Dr. McNeill further pointed out that a lot of the infrastructural developments that were taking place in the country were geared toward tourism development.
Part of that development process is the implementation of a Tourism Enhancement Fee. Legislation to pass the fee into law was approved in the House of Representatives last November. The fee will be paid by incoming airline and cruise ship passengers where the journey originates outside the island and for connected matters.
Making her presentation during the debate, Industry and Tourism Minister, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, explained that the fee would be placed into a dedicated fund to be used for the sole purpose of implementing the recommendations emanating from the Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development.
The law allows for a tourism enhancement fee of US$10.00 to be charged to incoming airline passengers and US$2.00 charged to cruise passengers with collection occurring at the point of sale. In addition, the legislation provides for the establishment of a management framework for policy and general administration of the affairs of the Fund and for coordinating the implementation of the various projects and programs.
The Tourism Master Plan was developed to provide a comprehensive framework for the future development of the island’s tourist industry and aims to achieve growth based on a sustainable market position. The plan is also aimed at building an inclusive industry, which was environmentally sustainable and served to enhance the visitor experience.
Addressing a meeting of members of the diplomatic corps in January, Minister Assamba noted that the granting of most approved destination status to Jamaica by China was a major incentive to the sector, and should significantly open up the country to a larger market, providing not only a valuable new source of tourism revenue but also a medium for enriching cross-cultural exchange. Furthermore, she said, the introduction of several new attractions, the increase in airlift, infrastructural improvements, the implementation of the Tourism Master Plan and other major events, stood to further enhance the development of the sector.
Meanwhile, at a recent JAMPRO seminar, Dr. McNeill made note of the substantial tourism investment plans, which would see the addition of as many as 10,000 rooms to the local accommodation stock over the next five years. This, he said, meant “considerable urgency in the pursuit of quantum improvement in economic linkages for tourism if the island is to capitalize on this window of opportunity and maximize the effect of foreign direct investment”.
Last month, the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) confirmed that international tourist arrivals had reached an all-time high of 760 million in 2004, an increase of 10 per cent over 2003. According to the WTO, growth was common to all regions with Asia and the Pacific leading the standings with some 29 per cent increase in arrivals.
Dr. McNeill observed that the strong rebound in the international tourism after nearly three years of stagnant growth, following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, was reflective of the recovery of the world economy and the return of consumer travel confidence.
