Tourism Minister Looks to China to Boost Earnings
By: , July 23, 2016The Key Point:
Photo: Glenis Rose
Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett, examines craft items on display at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier during his tour of the Falmouth development projects on July 21.The Facts
- Noting that the Falmouth Pier is being earmarked as the centrepiece for growth within the cruise shipping subsector, Mr. Bartlett said Government is projecting $5 billion in earnings from five million cruise ship passengers stopping over by 2021.
- He said the tour was aimed at catalysing the necessary “buy- in” from the local stakeholders, including the residents, the police and the leaders of the public and private sectors.
The Full Story
As the Ministry of Tourism seeks to boost earnings from the cruise ship subsector by 2021, portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the Government will be looking to the Chinese market to help achieve this.
“In September I am going to China, and we are going to talk about the possibility of having Chinese cruise emanating from within our area and going into the rest of the Caribbean. That would enable us to look at other ports,” the Minister said.
The Minister was speaking following a tour of development projects in Falmouth, which are being undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Port Authority of Jamaica, Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and Trelawny Parish Council, on July 21.
Noting that the Falmouth Pier is being earmarked as the centrepiece for growth within the cruise shipping subsector, Mr. Bartlett said Government is projecting $5 billion in earnings from five million cruise ship passengers stopping over by 2021.
“We want to see Falmouth grow to 1.5 million visitors over that period of time, because (Falmouth) has the capacity,” he noted.
The projected growth in the tourism industry should result in more than 120,000 persons being directly employed and another 300,000 persons from induced employment, Mr. Bartlett said.
Among the areas toured by the Minister were the Pier, Tharp House, site for the Artisan Village at Hampden Wharf, the transportation centre, the new market, Market and Harbour Streets as well as the completed Post Office in the town.
He said the tour was aimed at catalysing the necessary “buy- in” from the local stakeholders, including the residents, the police and the leaders of the public and private sectors.
“They (must) begin to understand that the development of Falmouth is for them, not for some other people. That the value of the experience is for the visitor, but the returns from the experience, the dollar return, is for the people,” he said.