Mexican Ambassador pushing for greater tourism ties with Jamaica
Published:Friday | August 10, 2018 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke
Jamaica's investment ties with Mexico in the area of tourism could be strengthened in the coming months, following talks between Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and Mexican Ambassador Juan Jose Gonzalez Mijares.
"One of the issues, among many, that we addressed in that meeting was the importance of the question of tourism between Mexico and Jamaica, where we talked about strengthening this relationship in regard to further investment," said Mijares.
He noted that Mexico continues to have a strong presence in Jamaica, thanks, in part, to hotel chains such as Charisma, Moon Palace, and a number of other resorts in different parts of the country.
"We have also invested heavily in the entertainment industry in the hotels. There is also Dolphin Cove, among others, so, the value of Mexican investment in Jamaica's tourism sector is very important," added Mijares.
He said discussions around other areas of co-operation were presented, and this included pushing the idea of the multi-destination tourism arrangement between Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
"Related to that is the question of air connectivity. It is important to have flights from all these destinations, seamless transportation that will benefit each country, and that is why Mr Bartlett and I are now pushing for this to happen," said Mijares.
Also discussed, according to Mijares, was training opportunities available in the tourism sector.
"We discussed how to increase the training opportunities, and the investment opportunity on the supply side of the tourism economy.
"That means that all the questions that have to deal with food, in relation to the hotels and restaurants, have to be improved. How to work intelligently with the smart communities to develop agriculture products for the industry is also important to this improved partnership," said Mijares.
Mexicans have approximately US$600 million invested in Jamaica, mostly in the tourism sector.