REMARKS BY CLIFTON READER,
PRESIDENT THE JAMAICA HOTEL & TOURIST ASSOCIATION (JHTA)
AT THE JHTA’S 59TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & VIRTUAL MARKET UPDATE SEPTEMBER 19, 2020 SALUTATIONS…

PLEASE ALLOW ME TO START BY CONGRATULATING IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT, OMAR ROBINSON AND HIS TEAM OF COUNCILLORS FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING REPRESENTATION OF THE JAMAICA HOTEL & TOURIST ASSOCIATION (JHTA) AND THE TOURISM SECTOR IN GENERAL. I ALSO WISH TO THANK YOU ALL HERE PRESENT FOR THE CONFIDENCE AND TRUST PLACED IN ME AND MY TEAM TO ASSUME THE CHARGE FOR THE NEXT ADMINISTRATIVE YEAR.

Ministry of Tourism

TO ALL TOURISM ENTITIES - March 11, 2020

PROTOCOLS FOR MANAGEMENT OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

Please see the following protocols, regarding sanitation and other procedures towards preventing the spread of Coronavirus.

At this time, the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOH) has reported that there are two (2) confirmed imported cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jamaica. The following measures should be adopted by all tourism entities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We encourage continuous monitoring of the advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
This document will be updated periodically as more information becomes available.

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.”