Jamaicans urged to get Organised for World Cup Cricket

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba has said that Jamaicans wishing to take advantage of the many opportunities that would be available during the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Championship in the Caribbean, must be prepared to be formalized, organized and structured.
Such an approach, the Minister said, would help to minimize or eliminate rights infringements. She said that two agencies, the Jamaica Business Development Centre and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) would be assisting with the streamlining of all entrepreneurs wishing to take advantage of opportunities to do business in Jamaica during the Championship.
Addressing a group of Caribbean nationals at a town hall meeting in the Bronx, New York, on May 31, the Minister also emphasized that Caribbean nationals must start thinking “outside the box”, if they wished to capitalize from ventures during the Championship.
Sharing the stage with Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism for St. Kitts/Nevis and a former manager of the West Indies Cricket team, Minister Assamba pointed out that Jamaica and the entire Caribbean region stood to benefit tremendously from a projected worldwide television audience of billions.
“The World Cup Cricket will present a unique opportunity for billions of television viewers, who will be tuned in to the matches to see the Caribbean and will want to come for a visit. Those who come for the matches must be provided for, giving them an opportunity to spend their money,” she said.
In his address, Minister Skerritt pointed out that the ICC World Cup of Cricket Championship was the third biggest sporting spectacle in the world behind the FIFA World Cup of Soccer Championship and the modern Summer Olympic Games, and he was confident that all the governments of the region would work to make the 2007 Championship, the best ever. The meeting was one of two organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), as part of Caribbean Tourism Week 2005 in New York City. The Week provides an opportunity for tourism industry insiders to go one-on-one with Caribbean nationals on new developments, aimed at creating a sustainable economic sector for much of the region.
The forum was moderated by Jamaican, Irwin Clare, Sr., President of the Caribbean Immigrant Service, New York City.