• Category

  • Content Type

Advertisement

Tourism Minister Tours South Coast

By: , January 31, 2004

The Key Point:

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, officially opened three new honeymoon villas on Thursday (Jan. 29) at Jake's Hotel in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.

The Facts

  • Addressing the audience, Minister Assamba noted that Jamaica's tourist industry was moving in the right direction.
  • "The opening of a new cottage here at Jake's is another positive sign of the development of Jamaica's hospitality industry on our south coast. Jakes is living proof that our small properties can be hugely successful if they maintain high standard and satisfy the specific needs of the niche market they seek to attract," she said.

The Full Story

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, officially opened three new honeymoon villas on Thursday (Jan. 29) at Jake’s Hotel in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.

Addressing the audience, Minister Assamba noted that Jamaica’s tourist industry was moving in the right direction.

“The opening of a new cottage here at Jake’s is another positive sign of the development of Jamaica’s hospitality industry on our south coast. Jakes is living proof that our small properties can be hugely successful if they maintain high standard and satisfy the specific needs of the niche market they seek to attract,” she said.

Minister Assamba pointed out that the many prestigious awards earned over the years indicated, among other things, the existence of a very good team, which was committed to excellence.

“Nobody knows better than us that excellence is the way to go in this fiercely competitive globalized world. We also know that the most important input of any organization is its human resource, and for service organizations such as Jake’s, where person-to-person interaction is of profound significance, our human resources become even more vital assets,” she said.

The Industry and Tourism Minister explained that it would be a “good idea” for other industry players to follow the example set by Jakes Hotel.

“Their example of commitment, hard work and dedication are qualities that visitors have come to expect from the staff at Jakes, not to mention an experience that is not just satisfying but one that is totally delightful, indeed it is this focus that has made the hotel so tremendously successful and it is your constant effort at improving your facilities that set you apart from other properties,” she said.

Minister Assamba observed that another important principle that had really borne fruit for Jakes Hotel was the very strong community leadership provided by its Managing Director, Jason Henzell.

“Through Jason’s leadership role, the Treasure Beach Foundation (BREDS), has become all of treasure beach success, the construction of homes for the less fortunate, formation of the emergency response unit, assistance to schools and fishermen and promotion of environmental awareness are only some of the projects that have improved the quality of life of the entire community,” she said.

Following her presentation, Minister Assamba told JIS News about a number of other attractions that had earlier been visited by her team along the South Coast.

“We started off at the Appleton Rum tour which was very good, boasting excellent facilities. It is really a welcome change as it demonstrates how industry and tourism link together. Our next stop was Y.S. Falls which is a nature based attraction. Our final stop en route to Treasure Beach was the Black River Safari,” she said.

Minister Assamba said she saw many opportunities, which if properly utilized, could redound to the benefit of Black River.

“The town has a lot of promise, the river and the pier facilities that exist there.we need to just balance the use of the river to make sure that we don’t put more than what the river can actually carry on it,” she said.
Minister Assamba pointed out that proceeds derived from “tourism” had a way of filtering down to the very “grassroots” of the society.

“The examples as set by Treasure Beach is what I envision the benefits of tourism will bring to Jamaica. It is not just some investors putting up a hotel, I want to see the benefits going back into the communities so that it will benefit all Jamaicans, not only the ones who interact with the visitors but those who farm and sell products, the ones who create things, manufacturers, artists and musicians,” she said.

Last Updated: July 3, 2019

Skip to content