Big bucks for 'Jamaica House' - Gov't to spend $65m at World Championships

The Government has allocated an additional $65 million (£410,000) to the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to cover the cost of staging Jamaica House at the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships in London, England.

Developed around the London Olympic Games in 2012, the concept of Jamaica House was designed to leverage the global focus on the country's athletes and Brand Jamaica.

The concept was also used at the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow, the 2015 championships in Beijing, and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio Brazil, among other events.

On Wednesday, Information Minister Ruel Reid told the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing that Jamaica House would again be used to promote Jamaica and generate excitement in relation to the destination.

"Jamaica House 2017, London, is a joint project of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports and the Ministry of Tourism through the Jamaica Tourist Board," said Reid.

MONEY WELL SPENT

The information minister was unable to provide numbers on what the country has gained from the previous stagings of Jamaica House at global sporting events, pointing, instead, to the two responsible ministers, who, he said, were collating those figures.

But tourism officials have repeatedly claimed that any investment in the Jamaica House concept would be money well spent as the country could not pay for the global media coverage generated across print, online, radio, and television.

Tourism officials have claimed that the audience reach out of the first staging in London in 2012 was more than one billion.

Jamaica also reportedly saw airlift capacity out of the United Kingdom increase by more than 36,000 seats after the 2012 staging of Jamaica House, with more than 300 travel agents and tour operators from that country and other parts of Europe expressing interest in the island.

This year, Jamaica House will return to its original home at the O2 Arena and will be staged from August 4-13.