Councillor wants TEF to prioritise community roads, attractions in Negril
Published:Tuesday | July 22, 2025 | 9:25 PMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Arthel Colley, councillor for the Negril Division in Westmoreland, is calling on the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to pump more resources into improving infrastructure and tourism development in the town.
He made the appeal during last Friday’s official opening of Phase One of the West End Road Rehabilitation Project. The rehabilitated one-kilometre stretch was done through the TEF at a cost of $42.3 million.
While welcoming the upgrade, Colley said more work is needed to unlock the full potential of Negril’s tourism product.
“I am saying that we will have to take this project beyond where it stopped at the bottom there,” said Colley, in reference to the just-completed project.
“I heard mentioned a while ago, ‘the sleepy town of Negril’,” he said to Tourism State Minister Delano Seiveright. “I don’t think Negril sleeps any more, and so there are a lot of things that we’ll have to do to continue to wake up the town, by enhancing the product that we have here.”
Colley argued that the time has come to recognise Negril’s transformation into a vibrant tourism hub and urged the Ministry of Tourism, through the TEF, to redirect more funds towards developing critical access roads to attractions off the traditional beach strip.
“The European tourist that comes to Negril, the all-inclusive property is not their thing. They like to go out in the outer areas, such as Red Ground, Orange Hill and Brighton onwards,” said Colley. “In Red Ground, we have an establishment that sells the good, cold Jamaican Red Stripe beer and the good jerk pork, … but the road to that location is not in good condition.”
Colley also pointed out that destinations like the Blue Hole in Brighton remain underutilised because of poor road conditions.
Colley also added that community-based attractions and small businesses form the backbone of Negril’s authentic charm and is deserving of better infrastructure to thrive.
“So I am appealing this morning that we look at those roads, and look at what we can do in order to enhance the product,” he said.
Negril is consider one of Jamaica’s most important tourism destinations, contributing nearly a third of the island’s US$4.3 billion in tourism earnings. The town, which spans sections of Hanover and Westmoreland, is now seeing a wave of infrastructure development with the official opening of Phase One of the West End Road Rehabilitation Project, which forms part of the Government’s broader strategy to modernise key infrastructure in high-impact tourism zones.
“This is more than a road project. This is about building connectivity between our communities, our tourism industry, and our economic future,” said Seiveright, about the initiative, which is designed to enhancing accessibility, safety, and the overall visitor experience along Negril’s iconic West End.
Morland Wilson, member of parliament (MP) for Westmoreland Western, said the fixing of the West End Road was one of the earliest demands made on him by constituents when he took office in 2020.
“Roads have emerged as one of the major pain points – as we call it, frustration. I think my first protest, being a young MP, was a road protest … . Just coming in and people cussing about the road and saying they want the road now.”