Tourism Minister Says 6,000 Rooms to Be Developed in Rose Hall

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says some 6,000 rooms will be developed in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, over the next five years, making the self-styled elegant corridor a prime area for the tourism high end market.

In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Bartlett said the development will include the 1,700-room Hard Rock Café Hotel, a casino resort under the international Unico luxury brand.

“According to a new report by the reputable Grand View Research, Inc., the global luxury travel market is expected to reach US$2.5 trillion by 2025,” the Minister noted.

He said that increasing disposable income and consumer spending of the middle and upper classes are but some of the factors expected to drive the market.

“Jamaica is well positioned to tap into this obviously lucrative market. Business and luxury travel go hand in hand and the fact that the Montego Bay Convention Centre is also perched on the elegant corridor of Rose Hall, we are uniquely poised to make a run at this market,” the Minister added.

Mr. Bartlett said that with Zoetry, Iberor Star, Hyatt Ziva, Half Moon, Jewel Grande and Hilton among the real standouts on the Rose Hall stretch, Jamaica now has what “we are proud to call an embarrassment of riches, as we continue to pursue the trillion dollar luxury tourism market.”

The Minister said that when it comes to personalised service, a reliable transportation system, exclusivity and some of the finest tourism workers in the world, “Jamaica is second to none.”

He said that studies after studies have shown that those are the main ingredients for success in the high end market, noting that “this is why we have the mandatory Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) training for our workers” and also access to other areas of development.

Mr. Bartlett noted that North America, Jamaica’s biggest tourism market, was the largest regional market last year for luxury tourism, accounting for 85.5 per cent of the share.

“We just have to keep plugging away where eventually we will get it right. We have the right mixture – a first world international airport in the form of Sangster, a convention centre and some of the finest hotels in the region – all in close proximity,” the Minister said.

He is also calling on Jamaicans to prepare for the expected boom in the tourism industry over the next five years. “Our farmers, our craft traders, our transport operators…we have to be prepared for what is to come,” the Minister said.