Buyers from India, Luxembourg, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Spain will, for the first time, attend this year's staging of Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX), the country's annual tourism trade show that helps generate heavy visitor traffic.

“We have delegates from the traditional markets like the USA, Canada and Europe, including England and Germany, and we're looking forward to welcoming those from new markets,” Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President Omar Robinson said.

“We are encouraged by the continued interest in brand Jamaica, year after year,” said Robinson, who noted that JAPEX provides a forum to strengthen partnerships between local industry players and international tour operators, wholesalers and travel agents.

He noted, too, that hundreds of travel agents from the USA, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as a strong media contingent, will be in attendance at the trade show, where buyers and suppliers will engage in one-on-one meetings, updates and negotiations.

The JHTA, which hosts of the annual tourism trade show in collaboration with the Jamaica Tourist Board, is reporting steady registration by local suppliers and international buyers for the event scheduled for September 9-11 in Montego Bay.

Jamaica’s hospitality and tourism industry is preparing to welcome international and local buyers to the 2019 Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) – the most important business generator for Jamaica’s tourism industry.

The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), hosts of the annual tourism trade show in collaboration with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), is reporting steady registration by local suppliers and international buyers from traditional and new markets for the trade show at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Omar Robinson, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), is concerned that despite an influx of close to 2.5 million stopover visitors in 2018, smaller properties are still not cashing in on the nation’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry in a significant way.

Robinson, who was speaking at the recent 58th annual general meeting (AGM) and convention of the JHTA, said that a marketing campaign was needed to help boost the earning potential in the industry, especially for smaller properties.

“Small hotels continue to be the backbone of Jamaica’s tourism, and, as such, sufficient marketing programmes should be implemented to help improve the profitability of this sector,” said Robinson.

“It must be noted that while our larger properties did extremely well, smaller properties continue to experience low to average occupancies, except during some peak periods,” added Robinson.

With deaths and injuries resulting from jet-ski related accidents still fresh in many minds, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) is standing resolute in its opposition to the lifting of the four-year-old ban on the popular watercraft.

“The central issue is that jet skis have been proven to be extremely dangerous and have resulted in violent and tragic injuries and in far too many instances deaths,” said JHTA boss Omar Robinson while speaking at the association’s recent annual general meeting in Montego Bay, St James.

Robinson noted that the operation of jet skis, especially unlicensed ones, caused major concerns several years ago when a nine-year-old girl was killed in an accident involving one of the watercraft.

“Jet skis have been proven to be a most disruptive watersports activity in Jamaica,” said Robinson.

“They have been used by licensed and unlicensed operators for uncontrollable solicitation of visitors as well as for the unchecked distribution and sale of drugs.”

With rates ranging from US$10 to US$4,140 per night, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) is contending that local Airbnb-type operators cannot be considered as “just a small man’s hustle”.

JHTA President Omar Robinson, in a stinging response to criticisms levelled against the association since it called for a minimum payment of tax by the shared economy, said that while the industry includes a number of small and modest properties, some facilities are very large and luxurious.

Airbnb is an online platform that allows persons to arrange or offer lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences.

“Let us, therefore, dispel this view that Airbnb-type businesses are just a small man’s hustle! Some very significant businesses and individuals are invested in Airbnb-type ventures,” Robinson said in a media release on Thursday.

JHTA responds to Jamaica Observer Editorial entitled “Gov't must not fall into JHTA trap on short-term rentals

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, July 4, 2019 – The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) notes with concern the recent discussions on Social Media as well as in the print and broadcast media surrounding our position on the regulation of Airbnb and other types of accommodation-sharing platforms that operate here in Jamaica.

Of particular note is the Editorial published in the Daily Observer of July, 4, 2019 which incorrectly asserted that the JHTA is attempting to “hijack the Government to straightjacket our competition”. Nothing could be further from the truth and is in fact an offensive overreach by such a respected newspaper. Competition is and should always be the name of the game in the tourism industry. Our members, small, medium and large, all compete everyday locally, regionally and internationally for their share of business.