Gov’t taking steps to recraft, reposition tourism for future growth

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that the Government is taking strategic and definitive measures to recraft and reposition Jamaica’s tourism product. This as the Government moves to keep Jamaica in the leading market position as a destination and product of choice.

Holness said it was necessary to revitalise the offerings to get future tourism growth.

“The tourism product is changing, it is evolving, and Jamaica has been a beneficiary of the conventional traditional views of tourism, sun, sea, and sand. But as the generations change, what the travel generation of the baby boomers and Generation X, what they feel in terms of what is nostalgic, reggae music and the Caribbean Sea, may not necessarily be what is driving Gen Z to come to our shores. So, Jamaica must strategically seek to recraft and reposition itself to get future tourism growth.”

Speaking at the official double book launch for Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett at Devon House in St Andrew last Wednesday, Holness underscored that while Jamaica continues to produce more hotel rooms, the Government is seeking to ensure that tourists are not just confined to the resorts, but also venture into the towns and local communities to build real linkages.

In this regard, the prime minister noted that the Government has engaged professional services to evaluate the brand Jamaica and is advanced in developing a national brand

strategy that will benefit all Jamaicans.

The prime minister stated that the intended message would be: “Come to Jamaica to experience a people who have experienced hardship, who have suffered, but who have

conquered. That has a deep history. That has more to offer to humanity than just sun, sea, and sand. That must be the essence of our tourism.”

Once the essence of the brand is developed, the prime minister stated that the Government will then focus on turning other local gems into attractions, such as Port Royal Morant Bay, Stony Gut and other national treasures.

In the meantime, the prime minister stated that the repositioning of tourism will give Jamaicans a chance to position themselves with agency, taking responsibility for themselves as the country seeks to become a republic.