Bluefields Bay Villas expanded with luxury suites
Published:Saturday | September 9, 2023 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A four-suite luxury addition to the island’s south coast tourism offerings by Bluefields Bay Villas has inspired Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett to step up their marketing efforts for tourists who are seeking higher dollar value accommodation.
“What you are doing here in that expansion is going to enable me to take the marketing to another dimension,” Bartlett said at the event attended by United States Ambassador to Jamaica Nick Perry; Audrey Marks, Jamaica’s ambassador to the US; and Jamaica’s Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke.
Earlier this week, Bartlett spoke at the official presentation of the four newly constructed suites.
Crucial foundation
The investment was done by the Muncure family and Bartlett said it has provided a crucial foundation, setting the standard for high-end luxury developments along the south coast.
“Tourists have come, and they have really become a part of Bluefields. When you come to this area, people talk about it, and I get messages and calls. Some are wonderful calls and some are about the development and the joy it brings,” the tourism minister said.
“The addition of this innovation to the product in Bluefields is going to mean a lot more to us than you think,” he continued.
He stated that Jamaica’s tourist industry has achieved nine consecutive quarters of economic growth in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For all the pain and suffering that tourism offers this country, we are the only industry that has grown every quarter for the last 35 years,” Bartlett stated.
“In the last nine quarters the growth has been spectacular, absolutely phenomenal, but that growth has happened now because of people like Houston Muncure who has come with new ideas, brought innovations, and enabled more people to come to us.”
The Muncure family founded Bluefields Bay Villas in the 1980s, offering customised vacations to tourists from all over the world. This year, however, they decided to increase their product offerings for the high-end market.
“We have been pushing up-market, high-dollar tourism in Jamaica, and we’re continuing to do so. We are hoping that this first expansion is just one of the many phases of what we are doing here in Bluefields,” said Muncure, managing director, Bluefields Bay Villas.
“We believe our model of tourism is really good for Jamaica. We put a lot of money into some other forms of tourism in the local community,” he added.
Houston’s mother, Debbie, also spoke at the unveiling, noting that the occasion comes at a time when she and her husband Braxton are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.
Debbie considers it equally important that their children have taken an interest in the business and are ready to take it to the next level.
“Houston came up with what we felt was a necessary concept, and so he went to the architect, otherwise known as me, and we developed the suites,” she added.