Tweet
published: Sunday | August 3, 2008
Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Writer
Cummings
DESPITE CASHING in on tourism dollars from its Ocho Rios resort hub, St Ann appears steeped in poverty, ranked as the poorest parish based on the consumption trend of its population.
According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) recently launched Jamaica poverty map, about 14 of the island's poorest communities are in the garden parish. The map is based on the 2001 population census which captures, among other data, people's ability to consume goods and services.
Portland, another parish with a significant number of resort enterprises, places second after St Ann on the poverty map, followed closely by St Thomas, St James and Trelawny. St James is home to the island's Second City, Montego Bay, which is considered the tourism Mecca of Jamaica.
Uneven distribution
Economist Errol Gregory argues that the results of the poverty survey could be indicating there is an uneven distribution of the earnings from the tourism sector throughout the parishes. He reasons that the growth in the all-inclusive hotel business might be impinging on the distribution of economic benefits, as visitors are not encouraged to leave the hotels. As a result, local businesses do not benefit as they should from the industry.
Over the years, some craft vendors in resort towns have protested against the meagre share of the visitor market they receive, claiming this is partly due to competition from the all-inclusive resorts.
Gregory adds that tourism as a main business may have helped to urbanise St Ann and St James and improve the access to water and other amenities, but the income workers earn might be affecting their consumption habits. At the lower end of the labour force in the tourist industry, he explains, income is generally low, with many workers depending on gratuities to shore up their wages.
Weak linkages
Reasoning on similar grounds as Gregory, Kim-Marie Spence of the University of the West Indies-based Caribbean Policy and Research Institute (CaPRI) points to weak linkages between tourism and other industries.
"Yes, people are investing, but the informality of a significant portion of the economy doesn't allow the investment, particularly in tourism, to create the local linkages that it could," she tells The Sunday Gleaner.
"People are informal (business operators), so they can't consistently deliver the kind of quality in the kinds of quantities that these guys (investors) want," she adds, hence unemployment and marginal employment are issues in these areas.
Mayor not convinced
Mayor of St Ann's Bay Ivan Anderson is not convinced, though, that his parishioners are among the island's poorest. He says that while unemployment was high a few years ago, jobs are now being driven by new investments in the parish under the ongoing tourism-expansion project on the north coast.
"I don't see it. I can't say that people's consumption is dropping because there is so much happening. Employment has increased," he states, although he was unable to give estimates on the rate of unemployment in the parish.
Joe Hylton, president of Hospitality and Technology Professionals, says while he has no idea why St James or St Ann would show up such low consumption trends in the PIOJ survey, he believes all-inclusive hotels are blocking the economic distribution line. He reasons that some restaurants are not earning as much as they could because of the competition posed by the all-inclusive hotels.
"For the majority of the all-inclusive guests, they are going to make sure that they have their three meals per day," he says. "The restaurants have seen better days in the '80s and '70s.
Impact of resorts
President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Wayne Cummings, says while it is true that all-inclusive hotels have eaten into the income of some businesses, especially restaurants, this must be viewed in the context of the total economic impact of the resorts on the island's resort industry.
"Your average rate per room is far greater in the all-inclusive; it employs more persons of ratio to room ... So, you would have better occupancies and hopefully, better income," he reasons.
He adds that the number of things bought from the local industry to be utilised at the all-inclusive properties also helps to distribute the benefits.
Tourism performance '07
Tourism earned US$1.9 billion.
Hospitality enterprises contributed 7.2 per cent to GDP.
Total visitor arrivals contracted by 4.5 per cent.
Cruise-passenger arrivals fell by 11.8 per cent.
gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com
Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Writer
Cummings
DESPITE CASHING in on tourism dollars from its Ocho Rios resort hub, St Ann appears steeped in poverty, ranked as the poorest parish based on the consumption trend of its population.
According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) recently launched Jamaica poverty map, about 14 of the island's poorest communities are in the garden parish. The map is based on the 2001 population census which captures, among other data, people's ability to consume goods and services.
Portland, another parish with a significant number of resort enterprises, places second after St Ann on the poverty map, followed closely by St Thomas, St James and Trelawny. St James is home to the island's Second City, Montego Bay, which is considered the tourism Mecca of Jamaica.
Uneven distribution
Economist Errol Gregory argues that the results of the poverty survey could be indicating there is an uneven distribution of the earnings from the tourism sector throughout the parishes. He reasons that the growth in the all-inclusive hotel business might be impinging on the distribution of economic benefits, as visitors are not encouraged to leave the hotels. As a result, local businesses do not benefit as they should from the industry.
Over the years, some craft vendors in resort towns have protested against the meagre share of the visitor market they receive, claiming this is partly due to competition from the all-inclusive resorts.
Gregory adds that tourism as a main business may have helped to urbanise St Ann and St James and improve the access to water and other amenities, but the income workers earn might be affecting their consumption habits. At the lower end of the labour force in the tourist industry, he explains, income is generally low, with many workers depending on gratuities to shore up their wages.
Weak linkages
Reasoning on similar grounds as Gregory, Kim-Marie Spence of the University of the West Indies-based Caribbean Policy and Research Institute (CaPRI) points to weak linkages between tourism and other industries.
"Yes, people are investing, but the informality of a significant portion of the economy doesn't allow the investment, particularly in tourism, to create the local linkages that it could," she tells The Sunday Gleaner.
"People are informal (business operators), so they can't consistently deliver the kind of quality in the kinds of quantities that these guys (investors) want," she adds, hence unemployment and marginal employment are issues in these areas.
Mayor not convinced
Mayor of St Ann's Bay Ivan Anderson is not convinced, though, that his parishioners are among the island's poorest. He says that while unemployment was high a few years ago, jobs are now being driven by new investments in the parish under the ongoing tourism-expansion project on the north coast.
"I don't see it. I can't say that people's consumption is dropping because there is so much happening. Employment has increased," he states, although he was unable to give estimates on the rate of unemployment in the parish.
Joe Hylton, president of Hospitality and Technology Professionals, says while he has no idea why St James or St Ann would show up such low consumption trends in the PIOJ survey, he believes all-inclusive hotels are blocking the economic distribution line. He reasons that some restaurants are not earning as much as they could because of the competition posed by the all-inclusive hotels.
"For the majority of the all-inclusive guests, they are going to make sure that they have their three meals per day," he says. "The restaurants have seen better days in the '80s and '70s.
Impact of resorts
President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Wayne Cummings, says while it is true that all-inclusive hotels have eaten into the income of some businesses, especially restaurants, this must be viewed in the context of the total economic impact of the resorts on the island's resort industry.
"Your average rate per room is far greater in the all-inclusive; it employs more persons of ratio to room ... So, you would have better occupancies and hopefully, better income," he reasons.
He adds that the number of things bought from the local industry to be utilised at the all-inclusive properties also helps to distribute the benefits.
Tourism performance '07
Tourism earned US$1.9 billion.
Hospitality enterprises contributed 7.2 per cent to GDP.
Total visitor arrivals contracted by 4.5 per cent.
Cruise-passenger arrivals fell by 11.8 per cent.
gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com
Comment