Kingston, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill has attributed several of the recent successes in the tourism sector to the improving public/ private sector partnership within the industry.
The Minister made this pronouncement as he addressed tourism interests at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) 52nd Annual General Meeting and Convention held at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, Spa & Conference Centre, in Ocho Rios yesterday.
Among the examples cited by the Minister are the recent tax negotiations with tourism partners, ongoing efforts to improve linkages between tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors of the economy as well as moves to improve the experience at local airports.
Minister McNeill said “key to our successes are the partnerships we have developed and nurtured.” He added that “from the JHTA, to the hoteliers themselves, the attraction owners, the transport sector, every element of the industry has been very supportive and the synergies have been good. We are undeniably working towards the same goals.”
The Minister explained that “together we’ve worked assiduously on this issue of linkages over the past few months and we have made remarkable progress. We have had two consultations so far and now we are on the threshold of finalizing the programme. It is already clear that these discussions we have had with the agricultural and manufacturing sectors have been critical to clearing up many misconceptions.”
Dr. McNeill also noted that forging partnerships between players in tourism and other related sectors has led to significant success in the drive to improve the airport experience for persons entering and leaving the island. In providing an update on the initiative he said “last year we established a committee, including representatives from the Ministry of National Security, PICA, Airports Authority, JTB, Customs, and MBJ airport to build on the work which had been done previously in an attempt to improve the airport experience. We have made significant headway since then and passengers now travel with greater ease.”
The Minister was quick to note that “we have done away with outgoing immigration and increased the number of lines, which have improved the experience of arrival in Jamaica. We have also introduced the Advanced Passenger Information System that has reduced the processing time for visitors by eight minutes, the customer service is now better and we are going in the right direction. However we are going to keep pushing to ensure we improve even more.”
