Tourism interest bats for sector
John Byles, chairman of the COVID-19 Resilient Corridors, said while there are calls to diversify the economy, Jamaica still has a competitive advantage on the world stage with tourism.
“Tourism, over the last 20 years, has proven – even with all of the naysayers – that with it the economy continues to grow. Is it that we need to diversify the economy? I would say, absolutely yes, but that does not mean, in any way, we should marginalise an engine of growth that has a competitive advantage,” he said
Byles comment come in the wake of the country’s tourism sector sruggling to stay afloat as a result of COVID-19.
Omar Robinson, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), said that while tourism has suffered a fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, it remains one of Jamaica’s most resilient sectors in driving economic growth and development. Robinson argued that it is time for Jamaicans to “realise the importance of tourism” and partner with stakeholders to surmount the current challenges in a bid to harness tourism’s impressive potential to advance.
“Unless you are in tourism, you don’t really understand or appreciate the value that tourism brings to the country. It’s time for Jamaicans to wake up and realise how important tourism is. I agree that we have to diversify, but we also need to strengthen tourism,” the JHTA president said.
“How do we strengthen it? How do we make it better? It needs everyone’s support and buy-in, not just those who work in tourism. Everybody needs to be a part of making tourism work in Jamaica,” he said.