TALKING POINTS FOR MINISTER OF TOURISM, HON. EDMUND BARTLETT AT A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE JAMAICA HOTEL AND TOURIST ASSOCIATION (JHTA) OCHO RIOS CHAPTER & THE ST. ANN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (SACOC) MOON PALACE JAMAICA GRANDE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016

Colleague Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning...

·       It is my pleasure to be here this morning to participate in this special meeting of the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) Ocho Rios Chapter and the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce (SACOC).

·       These ongoing discussions between the public and private sectors are imperative as we continue to formulate strategies to improve and strengthen the tourism product and infrastructure of this resort town.

·       Developing our product is key to future success so it is essential that we continually ask what more we can do to keep pace with other world class destinations.

·       The Ministry has two great allies in the JHTA and SACOC. I highly commend both tourism partners for your commitment to improving the quality, diversity and infrastructure of the sector in order to maximize the island’s returns as a tourism destination.

·       Each one of us here today understands the significance of tourism as an essential tool for the economic development of both our communities and the nation overall.

·       We know too that the people of Ocho Rios understand this well as the local economy is heavily dependent on the direct and indirect benefits of tourism.

·       We must remember too that tourism is a fragile, sensitive and fiercely competitive industry and resort towns like Ocho Rios must continually upgrade their product and infrastructure in order to compete aggressively for the global tourist dollar. 

·       The Ministry of Tourism, through its agencies the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), and in partnership with the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), continues to pump millions of dollars into Ocho Rios’ infrastructure development. 

·       The Ocho Rios Improvement Project is making significant headway. Four hundred million had been allocated to the town for this redevelopment project, some of which has been spent to complete the rehabilitation of:

§  Turtle River Road (330 million) - $68.2 Million

§  Cruise Ship Pier - $29 Million  

§  Parking Lot and Terminal Building - $68 Million and $29 Million respectively

§  Pier Gate to Marina - $13 Million  

·       A further $286 million will be spent in the coming months as my Ministry continues its efforts to create a new visitor experience in Ocho Rios.

·       We are awaiting UDC Board approval for the following components:

§  Redevelopment of the Boardwalk/Promenade (460m), from the Marina to the parking lot at Ocho Rios Bay Beach ($102.5 million)

§  Redevelopment of Main Street, from Turtle River Road to the Ocean Village Shopping Centre ($184.7 million).

·       Procurement is being finalized for both these components.  The contract for Main Street is with the National Contracts Commission (NCC) and the contract for the Promenade is with Cabinet.

·       In addition, Ocho Rios will be home to one of the island’s three Artisan Villages; “one-stop locations” that will facilitate interaction between visitors and artisans, who will create, display and sell their craft items on site. These villages will also offer a variety of live entertainment and local food. The design process has already started and funding identified.

·       I am pleased with the way these projects are progressing and I am even more pleased that they will bring new jobs, stimulate tourism and bring more visitors into the town.

·       Yet there is still much work to be done and it cannot be left to the Government alone to position Ocho Rios as a preferred tourist destination.

·       We must therefore build strong public-private sector partnerships to leverage the natural beauty and cultural heritage of Ocho Rios for economic and social success.

·       The focus of the Ministry and our Agencies is to transform tourism in order to generate higher growth rates in both visitor arrivals and earnings so we can achieve our growth targets of 5 million visitors and US$ 5 billion in tourism earnings by 2021.

·       The town of Ocho Rios has an integral role to play in helping us to achieve these goals and maintaining Jamaica’s competitive advantage in international tourism.

·       However, we will achieve this only by offering a world-class competitive tourism product that ensures the first and last impression our visitors have of Jamaica is a pleasant and memorable one.

·       We all know that competitiveness can only be sustained by the continued improvement of our services, offerings and infrastructure.

·       I am confident that together we can make this happen and these kinds of interactions can only serve to better equip us to achieve our shared objective of growing our tourism industry to the benefit of the nation and all Jamaicans.

Thank you.