Growth & Jobs | Devastated! - Resort town of Ocho Rios down but not out

This could never be Ocho Rios, the Caribbean’s top cruise-ship destination, said one responder in light of the virtual lockdown of the resort town caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

All around, shopping centres that house dozens of in-bond shops, gift shops, and other businesses that cater solely to tourists are closed and workers sent home. Some local businesses in some of these plazas remain open.

The town’s largest hotel, Moon Palace Jamaica, remains closed while just across the street, the number-one spot for live entertainment, Mongoose Restaurant and Lounge, is also closed.

Elsewhere, several businesses that cater to locals are also closed. But others have remained opened, and, in fact, some that were closed for a while have since reopened. But the situation is a far cry from the bustling resort town that locals and visitors alike have come to know.

“Devastating is the word. What else could I say?” Vana Taylor, St Ann Chamber of Commerce president, responded when questioned by The Gleaner.

“I think the only people that are really benefiting in Ocho Rios now are, to some extent, the supermarkets and the shops and the banks, and so on. I can’t think of anybody else. It’s devastating. Everything is slowed because Ocho Rios, as you know, is solely dependent on tourism,” she added.

Taylor said chamber members are all feeling the effects of the downturn.

“Every single member is suffering at this time. There is not one member who is not in dire need of some help. Can you imagine persons who have not made one dollar since around March 10 until now and have lost thousands upon thousands of dollars? Then you can imagine the state of affairs,” she pointed out.

While acknowledging that the Government is doing something to assist those in need, she believes that more can be done, including a tax break for JPS that could be passed on to consumers.

“And if we could have the roll-out of the tourism grant, that would assist.”

GRIM PICTURE

Meanwhile, an in-bond merchant who requested anonymity, painted an even grimmer picture of the impact that the virus is having on the tourism sector in Ocho Rios.

“The duty free industry, it’s absolutely pathetic. It’s chaos. I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before,” he pointed out.

“With the airports closed and the seaports closed in terms of cruise shipping, the hotels subsequently empty, all my stores, which are tourist-related stores, are all closed, so I have absolutely no income, no revenue at all.”

“What makes it even more troublesome is that I don’t know when tourism will really come back to what it was pre-coronavirus because a lot of people are going to be very fearful about travelling, particularly on cruise ships and even on aircraft.”

Several shopping centres in Ocho Rios reportedly waived rental for shops for April, giving tenants a much-needed break. These include Harbour Shops, Island Village, Taj Mahal, and Soni’s. Still, maintenance fees are payable, so tenants are not totally free of responsibilities.

“They realised that once there is no tourist, there’ll be no business whatsoever because we’re entirely tourist dependent.”

Another merchant suggested that it may be time that tourism interests looked at diversifying their investments, explaining that some companies have been having thoughts along that line but have never really moved to make it a reality.

Taylor, in the meantime, eagerly awaits the reopening of the tourism sector, noting that hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have been negatively affected by the shutting down of the industry.

“We are hoping that the tourism sector will reopen as soon as possible so that commerce can flow again and tourism can restart,” she said.

“But we know, ultimately, that the measures implemented by the Government are things that have to be done based on what’s happening all over the world.”