Bartlett

Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, is seeking $40 million, through a joint-venture agreement with the private sector, to fund a 'sprucing up' programme of the island's six resort areas to meet the upcoming winter tourist season.

Just over half of the money, the minister says, will come from the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the rest from private partners, which will be a combination of cash and voluntary work.

Bartlett, who was addressing journalists at a press conference that immediately followed a meeting with tourism interests at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay on Friday, told the gathering that the six-week programme is to be launched in St. Ann on October 26.

The project includes the removal of debris, derelict vehicles and shacks, the trimming of verges, the pruning and spraying of trees, and the painting of curbs in the tourism capital, Montego Bay, the resort town of Negril, in Mandeville and the south coast, Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, and Falmouth. It will culminate on December 15, the official start of the winter tourism season.

10 per cent increase

Recognising the fallout in stop-over arrivals this year, Bartlett said he and his team had set a target of a 10 per cent increase this upcoming season, a task he could not possibly achieve without bringing the product up to a certain standard.

"We are determined to clean up the product and make Jamaica the best destination in the region, and to continue to make this industry the lifeblood of the economy," he stated.

In embracing the initiative, Pauline Reid, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she felt strongly that the minister had approached the start of the season correctly.

"The minister's effort to partner with the private sector is critical to the further development and sustainability of the industry. This level of collaboration fostered by the minister can only be to our advantage," Reid commented.

JHTA welcomes move

In the same breath, Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, welcomed the move. "This is exactly what a minister and a ministry of tourism ought to be doing if we are going to achieve the doubling of the occupancies that we require in Jamaica. It requires visionary thought, and the public and private sector to put their money and time where their mouth is," Cummings told The Sunday Gleaner.

He said the issue of preparing the resort towns is something that has been spoken about for a long time, "And I think it is incumbent on us to ensure this six-week programme gets off the ground quickly," he urged.