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AKA behind the news....
Good news on the tourism front (except for environmentalists perhaps) but some questions:
1.when Bartlett says 18,000 rooms in 5 years and this or that proposed resort has 5000 or 6000 rooms... are those bedrooms? I doubt it... looking at the EIA for the proposed Negril resort for example... it seems that in the 6000 rooms they included other than bedrooms.
2. Is the Tiger Woods brand coming to Jamaica? Tavistock already has developments branded by him in the Bahamas so that may be a clue re what Bartlett hints at.
3. These projects were all in the pipeline or are extensions of previously
announced proposals... is there anything entirely new that he has initiated?
Jamaica to Benefit from Multi-Billion Hotel Projects
KINGSTON (JIS):
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett
Jamaica's tourism product is to benefit from more than 18,000 additional hotel rooms, which will be developed from multi-billion dollar projects to be undertaken over the next five years.
Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, making his presentation in the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday (May 14), said that the expansion of the room count was expected to commence with an additional 3,000 to bring the current number up to 30,000. Of this number, he said, 1,350 would be developed in Montego Bay, and 950 in Hanover.
Among the projects underpinning this expansion is the Palmyra development in Montego Bay, which he said is scheduled to come on stream later this year with 843 rooms. Mr. Bartlett told the House that the developers will also be undertaking an "iconic product" called Celebration Jamaica, a $2.1 billion development comprising 2,000 rooms at the "high end", and providing "enriched experiences from entertainment, to fine dining, to gaming."
"We are excited about that development," the Minister said, noting that it will not only be bringing new dimensions in terms of boutiques, spas, golf courses, fine dining, tennis, and entertainment, but it will also be providing 12,000 new jobs in the Montego Bay area with the potential to provide some $13 billion of revenue on an annual basis to the country.
Another major project, he informed, is the $100 million Royal Plantation development in Portland, which Mr. Bartlett said, was a six-diamond 165 all-suite hotel "never before seen in Jamaica and the Caribbean."
The Minister explained that the development was expected to "attract the kind of price points that will put Jamaica at the top of the elegant high luxury properties in the world. He further advised that the designs for the development have already been completed, noting that the project would "redefine the entire landscape of Portland."
Mr. Bartlett informed the House that the developers of the Harmony Cove project in Trelawny had re-scoped their projections for the mixed-use resort, which would see 8,500 rooms being built, instead of the 6,000 initially planned. Additionally, he said the developers would be undertaking a development, which would make Jamaica a "golf destination of great repute."
"I am not at liberty to announce as yet the particular brand, but I want to tell Jamaica that when we hear which of the great icons of golf will be putting their name against that facility, believe me, it will drive Jamaica in a new dimension in terms of destinations in the world. We are expecting that this project will start in 2009 and should be completed by 2012," Mr. Bartlett said.
Other developments, which are scheduled to come on stream include: the Amaterra in Trelawny and the Negril Peninsula, which will each provide some 6,000 new rooms; Secrets, in Montego Bay, providing 700 new rooms; and Royal Decameron, also in the second city, which will see expansion of the existing property; as well as the new Holland Bay development in St. Thomas.
Good news on the tourism front (except for environmentalists perhaps) but some questions:
1.when Bartlett says 18,000 rooms in 5 years and this or that proposed resort has 5000 or 6000 rooms... are those bedrooms? I doubt it... looking at the EIA for the proposed Negril resort for example... it seems that in the 6000 rooms they included other than bedrooms.
2. Is the Tiger Woods brand coming to Jamaica? Tavistock already has developments branded by him in the Bahamas so that may be a clue re what Bartlett hints at.
3. These projects were all in the pipeline or are extensions of previously
announced proposals... is there anything entirely new that he has initiated?
Jamaica to Benefit from Multi-Billion Hotel Projects
KINGSTON (JIS):
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett
Jamaica's tourism product is to benefit from more than 18,000 additional hotel rooms, which will be developed from multi-billion dollar projects to be undertaken over the next five years.
Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, making his presentation in the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday (May 14), said that the expansion of the room count was expected to commence with an additional 3,000 to bring the current number up to 30,000. Of this number, he said, 1,350 would be developed in Montego Bay, and 950 in Hanover.
Among the projects underpinning this expansion is the Palmyra development in Montego Bay, which he said is scheduled to come on stream later this year with 843 rooms. Mr. Bartlett told the House that the developers will also be undertaking an "iconic product" called Celebration Jamaica, a $2.1 billion development comprising 2,000 rooms at the "high end", and providing "enriched experiences from entertainment, to fine dining, to gaming."
"We are excited about that development," the Minister said, noting that it will not only be bringing new dimensions in terms of boutiques, spas, golf courses, fine dining, tennis, and entertainment, but it will also be providing 12,000 new jobs in the Montego Bay area with the potential to provide some $13 billion of revenue on an annual basis to the country.
Another major project, he informed, is the $100 million Royal Plantation development in Portland, which Mr. Bartlett said, was a six-diamond 165 all-suite hotel "never before seen in Jamaica and the Caribbean."
The Minister explained that the development was expected to "attract the kind of price points that will put Jamaica at the top of the elegant high luxury properties in the world. He further advised that the designs for the development have already been completed, noting that the project would "redefine the entire landscape of Portland."
Mr. Bartlett informed the House that the developers of the Harmony Cove project in Trelawny had re-scoped their projections for the mixed-use resort, which would see 8,500 rooms being built, instead of the 6,000 initially planned. Additionally, he said the developers would be undertaking a development, which would make Jamaica a "golf destination of great repute."
"I am not at liberty to announce as yet the particular brand, but I want to tell Jamaica that when we hear which of the great icons of golf will be putting their name against that facility, believe me, it will drive Jamaica in a new dimension in terms of destinations in the world. We are expecting that this project will start in 2009 and should be completed by 2012," Mr. Bartlett said.
Other developments, which are scheduled to come on stream include: the Amaterra in Trelawny and the Negril Peninsula, which will each provide some 6,000 new rooms; Secrets, in Montego Bay, providing 700 new rooms; and Royal Decameron, also in the second city, which will see expansion of the existing property; as well as the new Holland Bay development in St. Thomas.
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