Government Takes Definitive Steps to Recraft and Reposition Tourism Product to Take Advantage of Future Growth
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that the Government is taking strategic and definitive measures to recraft and reposition Jamaica’s tourism product.
This as the government moves to keep Jamaica in the leading market position as a destination and product of choice.
Prime Minister Holness says it is necessary to revitalize the offerings to get future tourism growth.
“The tourism product is changing, it is evolving, and Jamaica has been a beneficiary of the conventional traditional views of tourism, sun, sea, and sand. But as the generations change, what the travel generation of the baby boomers and Generation X feel in terms of what is nostalgic, reggae music and the Caribbean sea, may not necessarily be what is driving Gen Z to come to our shores. So, Jamaica must strategically seek to recraft and reposition itself to get future tourism growth,” said Prime Minster Holness
Speaking at the official double book launch for Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett at Devon House on January 10, 2024, Prime Minister Holness underscored that while Jamaica continues to produce more hotel rooms, the government is seeking to ensure that tourists are not just confined to the resorts but also venture into the towns and local communities, to build real linkages.
In this regard, the Prime Minister noted that the government has engaged professional services to evaluate brand Jamaica and is advanced in developing a national brand strategy that will benefit all Jamaicans.
The Prime Minister stated that the intended message would be: “Come to Jamaica to experience a people who have experienced hardship, who have suffered, but who have conquered. That has a deep history. That has more to offer to humanity Than just sun, sea, and sand, that must be the essence of our tourism.”
Once the essence of the brand is developed, the Prime Minister detailed that the government will then focus on turning other local gems, such as Port Royal, Morant Bay, Stony Gut and other national treasures into attractions.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister stated that the repositioning of tourism will give Jamaicans a chance to position themselves with agency, taking responsibility for themselves as the country seeks to become a Republic.