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Sickko when last you go Airport? Dance sell off.

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  • Sickko when last you go Airport? Dance sell off.

    Valentine's Day sell out
    Hotels overbooked over holiday weekend
    By Ingrid Brown Senior Sunday Finance reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
    Sunday, February 21, 2010


    Scores of tourists had to be shuttled into Kingston for overnight accommodations on Valentine's Day weekend after all major hotels in Jamaica's resort cities reported a fully booked house, according to tourism officials..
    In fact, one major hotel was said to have been overbooked by over 300 guests.
    President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Wayne Cummings said since the start of the winter tourist season hotels have been doing very well, but Valentine's Day weekend was by far one of the busiest.
    Cummings explained that guests had to be booked to stay in hotels as far away as Kingston, with some hotels having been oversold while others reported full occupancy.
    "These are bookings we would have hoped for last year," Cummings told Sunday Finance last week.
    According to the JHTA president, last week's good fortune could have stemmed from a desire by people to travel, as well as the severe weather conditions being experienced in parts of the United States and Canada.
    Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said Jamaica welcomed over 25,000 stop over visitors over that weekend alone.
    "Hotels were so full that some 600 guests were transferred to Kingston between Saturday and Sunday night because there was no room anywhere on the South , North West or East Coast," he said.
    He explained that there are indications that there will be solid bookings until the end of the winter tourist season in April.
    According to Bartlett, the high volume of visitors comes in the wake of the recent historic inaugural flights of AirTran which had three flights arriving in Jamaica on the same day out of different gateways. The Airline has begun offering services from Orlando, Atlanta and Baltimore.
    "This is the first time we have had three flights from one airline coming in on one day," Bartlett said.
    The tourism minister explained that AirTran is expected to make some 18 flights into the island per week bringing some 2,500 visitors each week.
    "It is my view that AirTran, and other carriers which have added Jamaica to their destinations this year, are coming here because this is a very attractive destination, not only because of what the island offers, but also because this destination is hot," Bartlett said.
    He argued that the drive to get a million airline seats into the island for this winter tourist season which runs from December 15 to April, contributed significantly to the sold out rooms.
    "This is beginning to reflect in this record breaking weekend of full occupancy, because I have never known of hotels having to send visitors to Kingston, especially at a time when we have so many rooms," he said. There is an estimated 20,000 rooms at Jamaica's larger hotels.
    Meanwhile, Bartlett noted that unlike American airlines and US Airways, there was no shared risk deal reached to get AirTran to fly into the island from these major gateways..
    "It was not one of the incentivised flights and so it didn't cost us any money although we worked with them with marketing," he said.
    He explained that there was an incentive deal reached with US Airways out of Phoenix into Montego Bay because that airline was flying out of a brand new gateway.
    According to Bartlett, the booming winter tourist season, in which Jamaica has already welcomed over 150,000 visitors can be attributed to the Jamaica Tourist Board's increased marketing thrust.
    But despite the full house, the JHTA president said many of the guests were staying at the reduced rates which have been in the market for sometime to entice more travellers to the region.
    "A lot of the rooms were booked already for several months at rates which have been out there in the market for sometime," he said.
    • Don't let negative things break you, instead let it be your strength, your reason for growth. Life is for living and I won't spend my life feeling cheated and downtrodden.

  • #2
    Jamaica: the next haven for young celebrities?
    DIANE ABBOTT


    Sunday, February 21, 2010


    JAMAICA with its luxurious north coast resorts like Round Hill has always been the preferred destination of the very rich and mature holiday-maker. Such visitors are not concerned about fashion and are undeterred by scary stories in their local media about crime in Jamaica. They know that the country offers a combination of luxury, unsurpassed scenery and a unique Jamaican "vibe" which cannot be found elsewhere.


    But it appears that the young and glamorous from the world of pop music have "rediscovered" Jamaica.

    Amy Winehouse is set to record her next album in Jamaica.


    Amy Winehouse is set to record her next album in Jamaica.


    1/1
    Thirty-eight-year-old Damon Dash is a black American hip-hop mogul. He co-founded Roc-a-Fella records with hip-hop superstar Jay-Z. Dash, having made his millions in hip-hop music, has moved into fashion and films. Now he is reportedly looking to buy in Flint River near Montego Bay.


    Twenty-seven-year-old Lily Allen is a huge singing star in Britain and never out of the gossip columns. She comes from a show business family, but broke onto the music scene by putting her songs online via the social networking site MySpace. In 2006 she topped the UK charts. Unlike a lot of young pop stars she is political and highly articulate. A few years ago I was very impressed with her when she appeared on a political talk show that I co-host on BBC television. It was recently reported that she will be setting up home in Jamaica. She is planning to build a house on a beachside plot she bought in 2008 and is apparently planning to spend several months of the year there.


    One of the biggest (and most erratic) young British pop stars to emerge in recent years is Amy Winehouse and she is apparently set to record her next album in Jamaica. Winehouse is another young female singer who is never out of the headlines here in Britain. This is partly because of her unique vocal style. Being one of those unusual white singers who sound 'black', Winehouse's vocals is a distinctive mix of R&B, jazz, soul and just a little touch of ska. In 2007 her album Back to Black was the best-selling British album of the year. She went on to win three Grammys in 2008 for: "Record of the Year ", "Song of the Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal". Sadly, she also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse which British tabloids have covered in fascinating detail.



    Last year she went for a prolonged holiday in St Lucia. This was an apparent attempt to detoxify her body and resolve personal conflicts. How long the effects of her time away will last remains to be seen. But what is obvious is that the Caribbean has had a lasting effect on her. She was quoted at the time as saying, "Since I first came to the island, I have been greeted with nothing but kindness and friendship, as well as incredible music and the most beautiful of settings. I have made friends for life and have been inspired by my surroundings." Now she is heading for Jamaica.
    Tourism in Jamaica has done very well despite the international economic downturn. Becoming a mecca for the young and the hip would be the icing on the cake.



    http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Abbott-Feb-21
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

    Comment


    • #3
      Flint River near Montego Bay.
      Wonder why she could not have said, Flint River, Hanover?
      "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

      Comment


      • #4
        I wonder if the Bed and Breakfast (B&B) concept would work in Jamaica?
        The only time TRUTH will hurt you...is if you ignore it long enough

        HL

        Comment


        • #5
          hanover? germany!?!


          BLACK LIVES MATTER

          Comment


          • #6
            Breakfast in bed ?

            Wheh yuh mean ?

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