NEW GROWTH POSSIBILITIES
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED TOURISM ENTERPRISES TO BENEFIT FROM INT’L CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN MOBAY
MINISTER OF Tourism Edmund Bartlett has stated that operators of small and medium-size tourism enterprises (SMTEs) are poised to benefit from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Government of Jamaica and World Bank Group Global Conference on ‘Jobs & Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism’, scheduled to take place in Montego Bay, November 27-28, 2017.
The benefit to SMTEs comes from a major focus of the conference to advise operators about the development of sustainable business models, the tourism minister informed, noting that “sustainable tourism models include nature-based tourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism that are seen as the sector’s best prospects for growth.
“In our rapidly changing consumer market, sustainable business models are essential for long-term success. Once regarded as alternative models, sustainable tourism is now projected to come into the mainstream of the industry.”
He also pointed out that 2017 has been designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
“The conference will explore best practices for inclusive growth by expanding community tourism to generate inclusive economic growth and decrease tourism leakage,” Bartlett explained. “It will strengthen linkages between tourism and non-tourism sectors focusing on: gastronomy, shopping, health and wellness, as well as knowledge, entertainment and sports.”
The tourism minister said that sessions at the conference will highlight best practices to strengthen the framework for financial support for SMTEs.
DEVELOPMENT DEPENDENT ON SMTES’ SUCCESS
In 2015, the World Bank noted that 80 per cent of tourism in the Caribbean was driven by SMTEs and, therefore, the development of the sector depended on their success. Earlier this year, World Bank Country Manager Galina Sotirova also pointed out that SMTEs can play an important role in the viability of the Jamaican tourism product. She posited that the increasing popularity of environmental and community tourism, as well as the bed-and-breakfast concept, meant that operators of SMTEs will need more support to diversify their tourism product. Hotelier Fabio Favalli, owner of the San San Tropez Hotel and Villas, a 20-bedroom facility in Portland, said that “the greatest benefit from this conference will be the exploration of issues that can help small hoteliers”. He also wants special emphasis to be placed on community tourism. “When all the hotels in Port Antonio are full, the town benefits because in addition to the jobs provided directly, other sectors benefit; and that results in growth in the town.”