Ja Sport: Promoting sports tourism in Ja
THE JAMAICA Tourist Board (JTB), through Jamaica Sport, has set its focus on promoting Jamaica as an ideal destination for hosting world-class sporting events.
In 2013, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill assembled a group of professionals with expertise in tourism, marketing, sports administration, event management and media to spearhead Jamaica’s efforts in sports tourism under the banner Jamaica Sport. Functioning under the auspices of the JTB, the mandate of Jamaica Sport is to increase the number of international sporting events that are staged on the island, thereby increasing the participation of international athletes and sports enthusiasts visiting the island. The added benefit is that these sporting fixtures garner increased inter- national exposure for Destination Jamaica.
Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook remarked, “Sport is one of the flagship elements in the marketing mix for Destination Jamaica. As a dominant sporting destination, we continue to celebrate the superb talents of our people in diverse events. As such, sport is a formidable attractor for visitors to the island.”
EVENTS HOSTING
He concluded, “Jamaica Sport has been using Jamaica’s success in sport to promote the destination, thus keeping us top of mind for the hosting of top-notch sporting events”.
Jamaica Sport has been reaping success. In just over two years, it has assisted more than 13 sporting events and as many as 10 sporting federations have received a boost to their budgets. As a result, there were approximately 4,000 additional visitors to the island because of the input of Jamaica Sport.
Some of the sporting events that have benefited from Jamaica Sport over the past two years include Reggae Marathon, CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup qualifiers, UANA Youth Water Polo Championships, Olympic Qualifiers for beach volleyball, Caribbean Gymnastics Championship, Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship, Caribbean Premier League T20 Cricket and international Test cricket tour. These events generated the most room nights and brought extensive media coverage for the island.