JAMAICA: Jamaicans Should Invest In Tourism

MAYBERRY Investment Limited recently closed its monthly Investors’ Forum series on a positive note.

Now in its 16th year, the monthly forum aims to share investment opportunities with the firm’s stakeholders.

The final forum for the year was held at the Sabina Park Cricket Stadium in Kingston, with presentations being made by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Caribbean Producers Jamaica, Thomas Tyler.

Speakers encouraged both private and public investors to invest in Jamaica’s growing tourism sector, which continues to undergo significant development.

McNeill explained that some 2,500 rooms are either under construction or being renovated, and will come on stream by the end of the year creating an exceptional expansion in the tourism sector.

“Jamaica’s tourism sector is taking off and doing very well, and there’s a reason for that,” the minister told the forum.

“The first has to do with the current state of our economy. The reality of the situation is that investors are looking at Jamaica and are feeling very positive about the direction our economy is moving,” he added.

He said that expansion will continue over a four-10-year period with the construction of an additional 7,000 new rooms. These include 4,000 rooms to be added by the Karisma Group, 2,500 to be added by China Harbour and 800 rooms to be added by Ocean by H10.

He said, however, that efforts to boost investments by Jamaicans in the sector will require increased access to domestic capital.

McNeill called on players in the financial sector to make capital more readily available to local investors so they too can share in the tremendous opportunities now available in the booming tourism sector.

He also emphasised that these investments could be either direct investment in tourism, or by exploiting its linkages with other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and entertainment. He said that, as the tourism sector continues to enjoy expansion, more Jamaicans should be able to take advantage of the investment opportunities.

“This investment wave is bigger in scope than anything we have ever seen before. But, while this is happening, more Jamaicans should look at the tourism sector as a great area for investment and can reap healthy returns. We need to establish systems to facilitate investment in the tourism sector, finding ways to put management and capital together. So I am encouraging corporate Jamaica to open their doors,” McNeil said.

JAMAICA: Tourist Arrivals Up 5.5%

Tourism and Entertainment Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill, says Jamaica recorded a 5.5 per cent increase in visitor arrivals for the nine-month period between January and September 2015.

Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) statistics show that arrivals totalled just over 1.6 million during the period.

The minister noted that this is approximately 38,000 more than the corresponding period in 2014. He added that this year’s figure also includes increased cruise ship visitor arrivals, which were 105,000 more than last year.

McNeill was speaking at the weekly Kingston Rotary Club luncheon, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on Thursday.

The minister welcomed the increased visitor arrivals, particularly out of the United States, where “we have seen a rebound.”

He said this is “very good, because it’s such an important market to us.”

He also highlighted notable increases in arrivals out of the United Kingdom, which had declined as a result of the global economic downturn, and issues with the Air Passenger Duty (APD), among others.

Meanwhile, Dr McNeill advised that Jamaica has secured an additional 60,000 airlift seats that will come on stream for the upcoming 2015/16 Winter Tourist Season, which starts on December 15. Of this number, the Minister said over 50,000 originates in the United States.

The airlines involved include: Frontier Airways, which will channel flights out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; American Airlines, which will have flights out of Los Angeles, California; and Southwest, which will schedule daily flights out of Houston, Texas.

“When you take into consideration that next year, we are going to be bringing direct flights from (places) like Dublin (in the Republic of Ireland) to Montego Bay, we are really opening up...the possibilities for Jamaica,” the minister said.

JAMAICA: US$500-m Tourism Investment - 3,000 New Hotel Rooms Under Construction,

JUST under 3,000 new hotel rooms are now being constructed in Jamaica in what Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill described as "a massive wave" of investment in the sector valued at US$500 million.

"This investment in new rooms is larger than any other in the history of the industry," McNeill told senior journalists at his New Kingston office yesterday.

The 2,694 rooms are split between new properties and expansion on existing hotels in Negril, Montego Bay, Trelawny, St Ann, and Kingston.

McNeill said they will account for approximately 7,000 jobs in the construction phase, and between 4,000 and 5,000 permanent positions when the hotels are fully operational.

He attributed the investments to strong partnerships created over the past three years, particularly in the United States, and with the world's largest tour operator, TUI Group.

"What you have happening is people doing business in Jamaica being successful and investing in a real way," McNeill said.

Jamaica Tourist Board Chairman Dennis Morrison said the investments were also influenced by amendments to the Hotel Incentives Act which now grant tax breaks to hoteliers for refurbishing.

"The tax system that has been put in place meets a demand that has been made for many years of government," Morrison said.

Previously, the Act provided a 10-year relief from general consumption tax, income tax, and import duty to new hotels, existing hotels adding a minimum of 10 rooms or 30 per cent of the existing number of rooms (whichever is greater), and existing hotels that have done or intend to do substantial structural alteration.

In addition, approved convention hotels with 350 or more bedrooms are entitled to income tax and import duty relief ranging from 11 to 15 years.

"The new regime allows the operator to renew and refresh his property every three or five years, and they will tell you that is the biggest thing, because what you have done is take the taxes off their operating expenses," Morrison said.

McNeill pointed out that another 2,500 rooms are to be built by Chinese investors, and the planned casino resort on the North Coast will add more rooms to the product.

"What you're seeing is a massive wave," he said.

Just over a decade ago, Spanish investors figured prominently on a list of 15 tourism projects which, at the time, was the largest combined investment in the sector with capital of US$400 million and employment capacity of 4,700 jobs.