Tourism Minister Says Jamaica Working Hard to Reopen Sector and Welcome Visitors

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica is mobilising to reopen its tourism infrastructure and welcome visitors as soon as is feasible.

He said that while the category-five hurricane Melissa caused widespread damage across sections of Jamaica, officials are optimistic about a robust return ahead of the peak winter season, which begins on December 15.

“The hurricane hit the western quadrant of the island. Overall, just about 60 per cent, perhaps, of our tourism assets were affected by the hurricane. The extent to which the damage was done ranges from extreme in one instance – in only one instance – to moderate and in a much lighter way,” Mr. Bartlett told JIS News in an interview.

“The tourism capital, Montego Bay, was one of the hardest hit of the destinations in Jamaica. Negril is in relatively good nick. Port Antonio was hardly touched. Kingston and some areas along the South Coast are still in good nick,” the Minister added.

Mr. Bartlett noted that with tourism being 30 per cent of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP), the “implications are deeper and wider”.

He said that in addition to knowing that tourism provides more than 55 per cent of the foreign exchange that the country generates, the sector also employs 20 per cent of the labour force on the island.

“The good news all around is that our airports are working. We have established a timeline for the full opening of the destination for December 15. A number of our hotels are now open and are scheduling for opening. So, by the time we get to the 15th, more than 70 per cent of all our room stock and attractions will be available,” Mr. Bartlett noted.

“The biggest challenge we face is to get our workers back with their physical assets back intact – their houses – to ensure that they have water and light and all the amenities that will make them able to produce at the highest level. And that’s a big, strong mission, and we’re going after it with a lot of energy and resources,” he said.

Mr. Bartlett said that a real silver lining and one of the things that his Ministry wants to emphasise amid all the setbacks caused by the hurricane, is the resilience and never-say-die approach of the Jamaican people.

“We’re not just building back. We’re building back better, and we’re building back with the knowledge of the technology that is required to deal with the elements of weather and climatic change that we’re experiencing,” he added.

Mr. Bartlett also underscored the collective spirit behind Jamaica’s recovery.

“We work hard at it. We have a recovery task force that is working daily, minutely. The Government has responded extremely well to enable the reconstruction activities,” the Minister said.

He reiterated the invitation to travellers – visit Jamaica to support the island’s recovery.