Tourism boost set for Falmouth

[Jangle]

FALMOUTH, Trelawny— Hotel room stock in Trelawny is projected to grow by 12,000 in the next three years, which places the parish on track to boast the most hotel rooms in the region, according to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

“Trelawny will have 12,000 new rooms by 2021 and so what we are doing, we are building out the capacity of the people of Falmouth to respond to the demand that 12,000 new rooms is going to bring in the area. I had a discussion last (Thursday) night where I signed off on 8,000 rooms for Trelawny,” Bartlett told the Jamaica Observer.

But Dr Chang argued that increased hotel room stock will drive the demand for residential spaces, therefore “Government is planning for when this comes we don't end up with an unnecessary overcrowding and informal settlement swamping the place.

“What that (increased hotel rooms) means, you need thousands of people working in Trelawny and we cannot allow ourselves to be caught flat-footed again and we end up with squatter communities spreading across the land or housing being developed in an arbitrary way,” Dr Chang stated.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...3?profile=1431

[Jangle]

For years, different interests have wrestled with ways to monetise the history of Port Royal as a premier sightseeing destination without harming its archaeological treasures.

Now, the Port Authority of Jamaica is about to take a stab at flooding the seaside township with tourists through investment in a floating platform for cruise ships, as an alternative to dredging the harbour to accommodate the docking of vessels.

Shirley expects the business flowing into Port Royal to seep beyond that community.

"We also see Port Royal as the gateway to Kingston. So, much as how passengers arriving in our other ports go on tours beyond the port towns, we see the same happening in Port Royal," the Port Authority president told the Financial Gleaner.

"We believe there will be great interest in visiting the sites in Kingston and Spanish Town," he asserted

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/b...ier-port-royal

[Don1]

Yes...JA needs to soak up the vast pool of under-educated folks with low level/low skill service jobs in tourism - That's a positive

Unfortunately the flip side is that this will not result in the needed economic transformation for JA. Most of the FX will be exported from JA to pay for imported services (incl vast amounts for energy & food) and profits expatriated by the warehouse hotel owners. This while these companies enjoy humongous tax holidays

So look for shanty towns/squatter settlements to proliferate in that Trelawny warehouse hotel zone - Similar to Montego Bay and its huge problems today

BTW - 12K rooms built by 2021 is a ridiculous over-estimation. Only dummies believe that fantasy - It's almost 50% of the current room count

Most of the"educated class" seems to believe that higher value add 21st century services are the province of Whites & Asians - only.


Wake me up when JA starts to develop its human capital to meet the development environment & challenges of the 21st century -

But wait!!! Help is on di way!! TOOT!!! TOOT!!

[Don1]

It seems that Jamaicans residing abroad see JA mainly thru the lens of a tourist.... or a political tribalist. The key questions for most:

What nice new hotel can I stay in?? Where's the hot place to visit?? I'll drive around and issue footballs to kids - I like to see their faces light up!!
What is my beloved political party doing? How is the other tribe fcuking up??

Understandable (if limited) perspectives

[HL]

The Town of Falmouth need lots of work. Compared to other countries with trolly tours....Falmouth has a lot of cleaning up to do.

Still, I am happy to see the strides taken......

Tourism in Jamaica employes much more than the folks we see everyday. Plumbers, engineers, IT personnel, public relations personnel, carpenters, sales, etc etc etc etc......

Long live Jamaican tourism. Without it the country would be salt bad.

There is space for other efforts too. But in every business, you work with your strengths.

[Assasin]

Tourism have to do a better job of getting local farmer, producers and build houses and infrastructure that is used by all Jamaicans at a reasonable price.

Right now my friend Janet Dyer trained as a chef and it gave her the opportunity to get her Doctorate today and contributing bigtime to Jamaica.

Growth in tourism doesn't mean there shouldn't be growth anywhere else. Bartlett a do him thing, others need to do theirs. It would be nice to see Jamaica firing on all fronts and getting a 6 percent growth for a few years.

[HL]

Met with minister Bartlett mid last year where his discussion included the vast opportunities available for Local farmers in supplying the hotel industry. That less than 20% of foods are supplied locally.....

Myself and many others would not have second thoughts in investing in local agriculture...but we are our worst enemy in this area.

Praedial larceny is the major concern.

[Assasin]

yes that is a major concern and getting a long term contract for your goods.

[Sir X]

HL

Tell Bartlett to open up Kingston by working with the IAAF and the Jamaican stakeholders in making us a part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour.That would increase the agricultural demands ten fold.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAAF_World_Athletics_Tour

JA needs an annual T&F sports event to support its athlethic standing as a world power.

[Jangle]

San Francisco Embraces Amsterdam-Style Marijuana Lounges


In fact, there's nothing like the Barbary Coast lounge almost anywhere in the United States, a conundrum confronting many marijuana enthusiasts who find it increasingly easy to buy pot but harder to find legal places to smoke it.

Only California permits marijuana smoking at marijuana retailers with specially designed lounges. But it also allows cities to ban those kinds of shops.

Unsurprisingly, San Francisco is the trailblazer. It's the only city in the state to fully embrace Amsterdam-like coffee shops, the iconic tourist stops in the Netherlands where people can buy and smoke marijuana in the same shop.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/b...ijuana-lounges

[HL]

Tourism is a value added element of cities and country.

They all play to their strengths.

[Assasin]

Marley and some other people are opening a Kaya store., coffee shop, spa and lifestyle store in Ochi. Let us see how that go.

[Sir X]

A drop in a pond.

[Assasin]

it is a start.

[Reggaedoc]

Yes...JA needs to soak up the vast pool of under-educated folks with low level/low skill service jobs in tourism - That's a positive

Unfortunately the flip side is that this will not result in the needed economic transformation for JA. Most of the FX will be exported from JA to pay for imported services (incl vast amounts for energy & food) and profits expatriated by the warehouse hotel owners. This while these companies enjoy humongous tax holidays

So look for shanty towns/squatter settlements to proliferate in that Trelawny warehouse hotel zone - Similar to Montego Bay and its huge problems today

BTW - 12K rooms built by 2021 is a ridiculous over-estimation. Only dummies believe that fantasy - It's almost 50% of the current room count

Most of the"educated class" seems to believe that higher value add 21st century services are the province of Whites & Asians - only.


Wake me up when JA starts to develop its human capital to meet the development environment & challenges of the 21st century -

But wait!!! Help is on di way!! TOOT!!! TOOT!!

Agree 100%.