An indefatigable marketing guru takes his rest
THE INDEFATIGABLE marketing executive, Adrian Robinson, was assigned the challenging task of reversing the plunge in the future of Jamaica’s tourism in 1975. He brought to the job his adept marketing technique and a determination to make it work.
Robinson introduced some new ideas and strategies which kept the industry alive. ‘We are more than a beach’; ‘Make it Jamaica again’ and ‘Jippa Jappa Festival’, with the choice performances of Jamaica Festival. He will be long remembered for the special ‘package’ for Jamaican guests who took up the slack and brought business back to the industry when times were hard.
It is to the credit of optimist Adrian Robinson that he stayed the course and witnessed the beginning of the turnaround in the fortunes of the industry.
Jamaica’s tourism was to meet its sternest test during the administration of Adrian Robinson. This was a time when economic difficulties and political crisis made the island ‘an unlikely destination’.
The Government was obliged to purchase most of the major hotels. Overseas promotion fell fully in its lap, and much of its pronouncements were intended to calm fears and remove apprehensions caused by violence and disturbances which were publicised in the foreign press.
Undeterred by the handicaps of the day, Robinson spearheaded an ingenious campaign, appealing to repeat business. Those who had sampled and enjoyed the rare and exotic delights of Jamaica were more likely to return, compared with those who had not and were more inclined to fear the worst.
The appeal was transformed from that of a country of rare beauty and friendly people to one with a rich cultural heritage and abundant value for money.
Robinson convinced hoteliers that Jamaican visitors could fill their rooms, with imaginative marketing and generous rates.
By the end of his three-year tenure in office, the anticipated turnaround in the fortunes of Jamaican tourism had begun.