Ambassador Cites Benefits from Chinese Involvement in Tour Operations

Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Wayne McCook, has said that the argument for having Chinese involvement in tour operations in Jamaica is a logical one, as this would facilitate groups from that country in the island.
“In one respect, the Chinese outbound tourists tend to work with their tour companies, so one of the things would be to have strong relations between our destination marketing companies in Jamaica that develop the packages and the tour operators in China who sell these packages,” the Ambassador told JIS News in an interview.
“What we hope to see are more familiarization tours for tour operators from China, so that they can build relationships with destination partners in Jamaica and when the competition from this market develops, they will be better able to position themselves against the other destinations that are competing for the Chinese tourist,” he added.
The Ambassador said whether this means building a hotel or having a destination management partnership on the ground, such a linkage is needed as China presents opportunities with major tour operators, such as CYTS and CITS, running transportation operations for hotels.
Mr. McCook said that as a destination, Jamaica is seeking to create a framework on which it can increase the number of tourists who will travel from China to the region.
“We are a long haul destination, so it will require greater effort to build this market, than say, our competitors in South East Asia, Europe and elsewhere,” he pointed out, noting that the recent visit by the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, and ongoing contact with the large travel agencies in China, had laid a foundation that could lead to substantial movement in this new tourism market.
The Ambassador said that while the idea of a Chinese hotel chain would be welcomed, the Chinese are not yet major players in this arena, like the United States and Europe. “So, there would probably be Chinese property developers, who are engaged in resort development, who might come to Jamaica and probably engage in the larger hotel management and operating chains,” he noted.
Citing Jamaica’s strengthened relationship with China over the years, he said the establishment of the Mission in Beijing had allowed Jamaica to “do a number of things through diplomatic channels, using our Embassy that might not have been possible before.”
“China’s economy has seen rapid growth in recent years…our task is to build on what has existed – the strong foundation of good relations,” the Ambassador emphasised.
He noted that over the years, China has been an important trading partner in the bauxite and alumina mining sector, and that there are very good prospects for development in this area.
“In this regard, progress is being made, and I suspect that at a later stage, further development in this area will be more clearly known,” he added.