$12-million Negril sign stirs publicity and furore

WESTERN BUREAU:

Friday’s unveiling of a $12-million Negril welcome sign in the resort town has stoked a clash of opinions on social media, with agitators declaring it a waste of money while advocates have defended the spend as justified for Jamaica’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry.

The construction project, sponsored by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), also features a layby and walkway, retaining wall, landscaping, and the fabrication of letters in red, green, and gold. It is completed with solar lighting, which will help with the visibility of the sign at nights.

Marline Stephenson Dalley, TPDCo’s communications chief, declined to answer questions Sunday on whether the spend was value for money, saying that Executive Director Wade Mars would address those concerns at a later date.

At last week’s launch, Mars appeared to be wary that the Negril price tag might spark public debate, hinting at the controversy that spiralled from the initial $17-million bill for a welcome sign at the entrance to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

Mars said, at the unveiling ceremony, that TPDCo expects the sign to serve as a catalyst to attract more visitors to Negril for the photo experience.

“A good sign conveys information, it attracts attention and effectively communicates a message. It is compatible with its surroundings, and it increases brand awareness,” said Mars, who added that the sign will add to the aesthetics of the area.

He also said that, even though some signs are often taken for granted, they are still important for wayfinding, especially for persons who are unfamiliar with the surroundings.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, in giving the main address at the ceremony, had high praise for the tourism sector in Negril, saying that the resort town earned a third of the US$3 billion earned from tourism last year.

“Negril’s contribution to the tourism recovery programme and the economy of Jamaica has been spectacular,” said Bartlett. “Tourism is now driving the recovery of the economy of the country. Since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, that sector has shown growth in triple digits in consecutive quarters.”

Bartlett further noted that, in recent discussions with persons within the tourism sector, he has received confirmation that the recovery is strong, and that the summer that has just ended is the largest and best summer that Jamaica’s tourism has ever seen.

“We had 5,000 more visitors (to the island) this summer than summer 2019, and we earned 20 per cent more revenue than in 2019,” said Bartlett.

Bartlett said the Government will continue to do everything to enable the continued growth in the sector, ensuring that there is stability in the foreign exchange and labour markets, and the maintenance of social and political order.

“The greatest threat to the continued growth and development of tourism and Negril as a community is public order,” said Bartlett. “The murder business has to stop, the disruptive behaviour in the communities, the disorderliness, where people want to peddle their wares anywhere, where we cannot manage the beach because it is overrun by unruly elements, it has to stop.”