By Bevan Springer
EVERYTHING "CRIS" IN KINGSTON Tourism
officials working hard to encourage visitors to book Jamaica NEW YORK
(June 11, 2010) - Following my whirlwind visit to Kingston, Jamaica last
weekend - the corporate and cultural capital of the Western Caribbean -
travelers can rest assured that everything is "cool and cris." The recent
civil unrest and the government's security response in the west Kingston
neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens caused great concern among travel
partners in the marketplace, so I was keen to see the situation
firsthand and can verify that Jamaica's vibes are indeed still nice, and
notwithstanding low hotel occupancies, it is business as usual in the
capital. After landing at Norman Manley
International Airport on
Air Jamaica's nonstop service from New York's JFK Airport, Jamaicans
were assembling in their hundreds at Hope Gardens, enjoying jerk
chicken, pork and seafood creations at the Appleton Estate All
Jamaica Grill-Off competition - a telling indication that Jamaicans
were feeling comfortable about resuming their social activities since
the state's game-changing
crackdown
on gunmen and
criminality which lasted for a few days. 
Shelly-Anne Curran, Digicel's
Senior Sponsorship
Manager turned Chef, serves up a shrimp offering (seasoned in a mango
and pineapple marinade) at the Appleton Estate All Jamaica Grill-Off in
Kingston.
Photograph available
here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgsbbfz_24223nxd64ct
"Welcome to
Jamrock!" was the greeting I received from a local attorney who along
with some friends from the tourism and communications fraternities
collected me from the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites for a night out on the
town. The next few hours were rocking - not the typical site inspection
of hotels and resorts that journalists and travel agents must endure;
rather, an inspection of Jamaica's restaurants and night life - from the
Fiction Lounge to Christopher's Jazz Café to
the Truck Stop Grill and Bar. After
a few hours, it was evident, in spite of plummeting hotel occupancies,
"Kingston nah go down for long." "People are back out doing what they
normally do on a Saturday night," said Deputy Director of Tourism, David
Shields who took the opportunity to socialize with friends as we
club-hopped and took in the dancehall vibes of Jamaica. Now in his
seventh year with the Jamaica Tourist Board, Shields explained that
Jamaica had embarked on a multi-tiered, multi-million dollar marketing,
public relations and advertising campaign to communicate to travel
partners that the tourism product and experience were not the least
affected by the violence in an isolated area of the capital.
Facebook, Twitter, radio remotes, familiarization
visits, press trips and advertising are each a priority for the Jamaica
Tourist Board as it works feverishly to reassure past visitors, trade
partners and tour operators that "every little thing is gonna be
alright." After
enjoying a game of tennis and a delectable Jamaican brunch at The Jamaica Pegasus (yes with ackee and
saltfish to boot!), I bumped into
SuperClubs Chairman John Issa. "If you were staying at The Jamaica
Pegasus and doing your business in New Kingston or uptown Kingston and
you didn't read the newspapers, you wouldn't have known that there was a
state of emergency and the troubles going on in west Kingston.
Unfortunately, the news was widespread and it has seriously damaged
forward bookings for the tourism industry and even business traffic to
Kingston," he said. While occupancies in
Kingston dropped to as low as 30
percent, a bump in bookings was expected in the days ahead as Jamaica
gets set to host Caribbean Fashion Week and a major manufacturing
exposition. "We have to be
optimistic," said another hotel veteran
Guyanese Eldon Bremner, General Manager of The Jamaica Pegasus, whose
team has been busy calling clients to allay their fears. "We have to
work very hard ... in conjunction with the Jamaica Tourist Board and the
Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association to recoup the lost business,"
said Bremner who likened Pegasus to the busy Grand Central Station of
New York and predicted that the buzz will return before long.
"We have to spend the time to generate the level of
information to remove the doubts and fears from people's minds that the
destination is not safe enough for their children and for their
families," said Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who is in the
United States for Caribbean Week in New York to reconnect with
partners, including the Caribbean Diaspora, and advise them that
activities are taking place all over Jamaica per usual.
"What
really took place was an isolated incident in the inner city area of
metropolitan Kingston, far removed from the tourism centers where all
the excitement and leisure activities are taking place - so come on down
like the thousands who have been coming," the Minister pleaded,
explaining that arrivals in Montego Bay while flat for the month of May,
have not dipped into negative territory. 
Jamaica's Minister of Tourism
Edmund
Bartlett speaks with the Caribbean Diaspora press in New York City this
week.
Photograph
available here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgsbbfz_2431fp5jtff6
The Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board
are spearheading the US$10 million promotional blitz in key North
American and European tourist markets to prevent a feared US$350 million
loss in revenue as a result of the recent activities in west Kingston. Bevan Springer, a
New York Amsterdam News
columnist who writes frequently on travel and tourism issues, is the
President of the New Jersey-headquartered
Marketplace Excellence Inc. - a full service, integrated
marketing agency committed to excellence in the fields of public
relations, marketing and media coaching. He
also produces the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism -
CMEx.
ENDS |
