LETTER OF THE DAY - Jamaica must do more to woo Chinese tourists
Published:Saturday | April 27, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I refer to an article in The Gleaner on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 captioned 'Visas, air service hindering Chinese tourists to Jamaica'.
During the global recession, the major tourist-generating countries for Jamaica were hardest hit. The Jamaican Government responded with an intensified advertising campaign in key markets. What is not clear is whether the Government, then and now, realises that in order to maximise visitor arrivals and to compete with similar destinations, it has to target outbound visitors from emerging markets. The Chinese market is the new golden egg.
Despite being given Approved Destination Status by the Chinese government in 2005, and as our athletes emerged to be world-beaters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jamaica has yet to capitalise on China's emerging travel market. Establishing an embassy in Beijing, inking sister-city agreements and having strengthened diplomatic relationships are commendable, but Jamaica needs to do more if we are to gain a competitive advantage.
Some countries have begun to issue individual visas to Chinese citizens and have simplified the visa application process. Other countries allow visa-free travel, making it possible for Chinese to travel freely to countries where before they were obliged to travel with a tour group organised by a travel agency.
LOOSEN RESTRICTIONS
Still other countries have loosened restrictions on group size, which have been reduced to five persons, two persons or one family. In South Africa, for example, one person can be regarded as a group.
Given the uniqueness of Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Tourism needs to bring all tourism stakeholders together and make a conscientious effort to study the travel patterns and expectations of the Chinese travel market if Jamaica is going to attract more than the 6.3 per cent of Chinese travellers it attracted in 2011.
MONIQUE OATES
Lecturer
College of Agriculture Science and Education