Jamaica is joking with Tourism

[Jawge]

Nuh watch nutten sah

[Assasin]

yeah but nothing is wrong with some people not wanting to leave. Some people take vacation to rest.

Timesharers don't produce for the local economy unless there is attraction around. With proper attraction guests also want to leave the time share. Everybody I know go to Ochie want to go to Dunn's River Falls and swim with the Dolphins but only that most can't afford 80 dollars US to swim with the Dolphins.

The fact is even with the All Inclusive people can generate business. After been at an all inclusive for 3 days I normally want some other kind of food. Normally you see the people from the resort walking off the compound to go and spend some money but by the time them reach the gate the habour shark them waiting.

[Jangle]

It seems that the women have mastered this vacation thing. My wife is a genius at getting the cheap deals and managing the time share. I remember one year when the entire family went to Orlando, each person had a printed itinerary. Our first vacation here as family involved a road trip from NY to PA, Hershey for about 4 days. The total trip cost us about $500. We stayed at a Econolodge. Sass made a very good point about DR and Cancun capitalising on the cheap vacation concept. Not every tourist wants the all-inclusive experience.

[Jangle]

You couldn't have said it any better about the harbour sharks them that wait outside the gates of the resorts. They are way too over aggresive and they spoil the experience.

[Willi]

Cancun is almost all AI.

[Assasin]

When I am travelling alone I don't really want the all inclusive but if I have wife and kids then it is better for me. Everything is on a budget. There is no surprise when it come to paying bills. If you go a England and them give you a lickkle plate a food, when you get the bill you want fi run outa di place to rhatid.

Not everybody want the all inclusive but we have to face it that they have the concept things lock. From Sandals for Couple, To Hedo for with Wild and naked, to the various family resorts which includes real activity for the kids. How many times you go on vacation and you spend your time doing all the kids stuff just to please the kids?

The concepts are real and most of the traditional hotels have forgotten about concepts with execption of the ones catering for the wealthy. If the traditional market is to get any better we have to develop better concepts and customer service and get to the various target market.

Build the hotel rooms and they will come won't cut it anymore. As you say Casino is a must, but what about the Christian tourism market? How we a go attract the Chinese, the russian and the South American? Are the the All Inclusive tourist or travellers?

[Jangle]

One of the biggest myth being permeated about tourism is that all visitors (which are tourists) want the sun, sand and sea. Living in NY I always wonder what's the draw that Manhattan (which literally sees millions of visitors each year) has for visitors. Dirty (in every sense of the word) place like Washington DC also sees millions of visitors each year. What do they have to offer?

NYC had 62 million visitors in 2017. Of that number, 13 million were overseas visitors.

[HL]

[Tourism is a waste of time. Low paying industry dat iz ].

But Jangle: Jamaica has made some significant strides since you posted this a decade ago.

I still maintain there is much more to be done in Jamaica tourism. 'Specially general appearance, cleanliness, off the main tourism area access roads, crime, local education and so on.

As for NYC and the US in general, tourism has dropped since Chump took over. But the industry is STILL a massive economic earner.

Good post resurrection Jangle!!

[Don1]

You are clearly incapable of systems analysis...nor of even discerning the elements of a structured position on an economic issue

Then again such skills are not meant for everyone. No doubt you have strengths in some areas. Best you stick to those skills you may have competence in.

You're embarrassing yourself on matters of economic analysis. And that's putting things mildly

[Jangle]

Redefining Jamaican tourism
...in a disruptive way


Lisa Hanna

Aug 07, 2022



The Ministry of Tourism reports that around 1.54 million overnight visitors came to Jamaica in 2021, pushed mainly by US vacationers, who accounted for 1,278,679 overnight, land-based air arrivals (www.travelpulse.com). This figure is down from the 4,276,189 visitors in 2019, pre-pandemic.

However, even to return to the 2019 figures, we are still playing in the minor league.

Tourism today consists of several specific divisions — vacation, luxury, wellness, gaming /convention, all-inclusive, cultural, cruise, retirement, medical, and now-famous Airbnb. Our focus in Jamaica has, thus far, been limited to vacation and the all-inclusive market. But what will be the fastest-growing markets over the next ten years?

I have written in detail about Jamaica's benefits if we developed our tourism market to target retirees, those seeking medical treatments, mineral/thermal spas, and casino gaming. This time I want to focus on wellness tourism.

Coming out of the pandemic, the Destination Marketing Unit at the Jamaica Tourist Board rolled out the 'Global Recovery Campaign — Jamaica: Heartbeat of the World', focusing on driving social media engagement and advertising through selected media channels in our primary source markets of visitors to support our competitive position. As such, targeted emphasis was on advancing and delivering "content specific to popular categories of travel bookings; including, romance, luxury, wellness, and family". (Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, 2021)

The global wellness sector, which comprises industries that enable consumers to incorporate wellness activities and lifestyles into their daily living, is growing rapidly. With the addition of mental wellness, the wellness economy consists of 11 sectors.

The global wellness economy generated US$4.4 trillion in revenue during 2020 and is projected to grow at an intense pace of 10 per cent annually to nearly $7.0 trillion in 2025 (The Global Wellness Institute 2021).

The Asia-Pacific was the largest region for wellness spending in 2020 at US$1.5 trillion, followed by North America at US$1.3 trillion, and Europe at US$1.1 trillion. Yet North America leads other regions in the world in per capita spending at US$3,567 and Europe at US$1,236. Visitors and tourists travel to these areas to use various services. In fact, during 2020, 27 per cent of all wellness tourism expenditures were from international travel, with international visitors travelling to thermal/mineral springs and exclusive spas, which generated significant revenue.

International tourism accounts for roughly 30 per cent of global trade in services. One out of every 11 jobs worldwide is directly or indirectly linked to tourism (International Trade Centre). Wellness tourism is growing 50 per cent faster than traditional tourism as people seek places and spaces to replenish their mind, body, and soul with exercise and spa skincare treatments.

Post-pandemic consumers have become hyper-vigilant about maintaining balance in their lives while taking proactive measures to improve their health and reduce stress. Accordingly, "How they work, what they eat, and how they exercise, socialise and travel" are deliberated to determine the ultimate impact on their health outcomes, mental strength, physical stamina, and overall sense of personal resilience.

The new Equinox luxury, five-star hotel in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, is a strategic brand extension of the established Equinox Clubs, and caters to consumers who lead high-performance lives and crave a multidimensional, self-care, self-preservation experience to be the best version of themselves. Starting room rate: US$995 per night.

CEO Chris Norton says the Equinox's goal was to "redefine luxury in a disruptive way by focussing on three pillars of feeling better; namely, movement, nutrition and regeneration". He maintains that "luxury had changed long before COVID, and today modern luxury consumers are buying into brands for different reasons, prioritising alignment around their core values. In our case, well-being, sustainability, and a performance mindset are part of that mission. In addition, both an increased reliance on technology and COVID-19 have accelerated the departure from traditional luxury norms such as white glove service and forced hoteliers to re-examine their interpretation of luxury. For example, when some iconic luxury hotels removed the mini-bar due to COVID-19, we decided to keep the amenity and add items such as immunity-building kits".

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colu...aican-tourism/

[Jangle]

We need a sun, sand, and sea makeover

Lisa Hanna Feb 27, 2022

Once upon a time, there were three relatively small countries, one in the Caribbean, one in Southeast Asia, and the other in the Middle East. All three were British colonies that became independent of Britain between 1962 to 1971 — Jamaica, 1962; Singapore, 1965; and the United Arab Emirates, 1971. Although different in culture, all three had the same commitment: To build their economies and improve the lives of their people.

In this race towards self-determination and prosperity — measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita — Singapore is currently ranked fourth globally, the United Arab Emirates ranked 12th, and Jamaica ranked 146th, representing a real GDP per capita of US$98,400 for Singapore, US$67,100 for the United Arab Emirates, and US$9,800 for Jamaica.

By comparison, the real GDP for these countries is US$561.3 billion, US$655.79 billion, an US$28.83 billion, respectively. Therefore, the average person from Singapore can purchase 10 times more than the average Jamaican. ( www.cia.gov/)

Why are these countries succeeding and we are not?

The data confirms two main reasons:

(1) these countries have an unswerving commitment to universal quality education for all their citizens, and

(2) their economies are geared towards value-add exports.

On the other hand, Jamaica has failed to offer quality education to most of our people and has pursued an economic policy of import substitution and protection for the past 50 years, which only creates monopolies to benefit a few.

I have consistently stated that Jamaica will never have true prosperity if we focus only on creating and selling products for our populace of three million. Our import substitution policy needs to be replaced by an urgent value-added, export-driven agenda.

Jamaica must immediately capitalise on our extraordinary advantages. We possess natural beauty; creative people; soil that gives our food an incomparable taste profile; proximity to North America (the largest consumer market in the world); and geographical positioning to take advantage of Europe, South America, and Asian trade routes.

In light of these, Jamaica needs to go all in with tourism, culture, agro-processing, logistics, special economic zones, and financial centres.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colu...-sea-makeover/