Tourism Minister Reports on Demand Study in Sector

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the recently commissioned Tourism Demand Study has been useful in providing the empirical data to allow for effective planning and identification of goods and services in the tourism sector.

Making his contribution to  the 2016/17 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on June 14, the Minister said the study indicates that there is tremendous opportunity for trade, as high as $56.7 billion annually for processed foods, $5.3 billion for fruits and $1.6 billion for vegetables.

Mr. Bartlett said the Government will be working to address the challenges of leakages in the sector, identified through the study.

Annual leakage in the manufacturing sector is estimated at some $65.4 billion, which is 33 per cent of the total annual expenditure by the tourism sector on manufactured goods. For the agricultural sector, leakage represents 8.5 per cent to 25.5 per cent of annual expenditure on products.

The study was conducted to determine and quantify the existing and potential demand for goods and services across the agricultural, manufacturing, and entertainment sectors in Jamaica.

It sought to: identify areas where there is strong opportunity for increased consumption of local goods and services in the tourism sector; increase understanding of the supply chain for the industry; identify specific constraints and limitations hindering tourism linkage with the domestic economy; estimate the value of leakages due to expenditure on imported goods and services; and determine the receptivity for use of local goods and services within the sector.

The study was conducted by the Centre for Leadership and Governance at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and funded at a cost of $8.6 million by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).