Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

Evelyn Smith (left), general manager of the Point Village Hotel in Negril, and Kingsley Blake of Round Hill Hotel and Villas, were crowned Hotelier of the Year 2008 and Hotel Employee of the Year, respectively, at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association annual banquet, held at the Half Moon Conference Centre in Montego Bay on Friday night. - Photo by Janet Silvera

WESTERN BUREAU:

DESPITE THE challenges of high fuel prices and turmoil in the aviation industry, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says crime is the country's single most debilitating factor. At the same time, he has announced the securing of 2,000 additional seats with a major legacy carrier out of the United States last week.

"All the other factors are not as worrying as the crime situation," Bartlett told tourism stakeholders at the 47th annual general meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at the Half Moon Conference Centre in Montego Bay on Friday.

Possible to strategise

In expressing concern about the message that is being created in the minds of prospective visitors and investors, Bartlett noted that it was possible to strategise and solve the problem of fuel prices, but addressing crime was more challenging.

"Crime affects the quality of service that we offer to our visitors and it affects productivity of our people," the tourism minister stated, adding that it will negate the island's attractiveness and influence the external views of how the world perceives us.

"I can go to American Airlines and negotiate airlifts; I can go to Continental, British Airways and negotiate a favourable position, but I cannot negotiate the mindset that drives this kind of criminality."

Bartlett's sentiments were shared by JHTA president, Wayne Cummings, who argued that "It's not good enough to tell tourists that we don't kill them, we only kill each other over rice and peas, because we don't know how to reason out our differences."

No air seats lost

Notwithstanding the concerns about crime, reports from the meeting showed that Jamaica, in comparison to the rest of the region, had not lost any of its air seats in any of its markets.

Bartlett disclosed that the new arrangement with a US-based legacy carrier should commence in November.

The Sunday Gleaner has learnt that American Eagle has suspended 60 per cent of its business into its Puerto Rico hub, affecting Caribbean islands such as Antigua and the British Virgin Islands. Globally, airlines have been pummelled by the spiralling cost of fuel, with the latest price of oil being US$139 per barrel.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com