JHTA president declares Mobay safest place in Jamaica

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Omar Robinson, has declared Jamaica’s tourism capital of Montego Bay, St James the safest place in Jamaica.

After recording alarming murder figures in the parish of St James, and the imposition of enhanced security measures earlier this year, which sees heavy police and military being placed in the city, Montego Bay is now seeing a sharp decline in the murder rate.

Speaking at the JHTA 57th annual general meeting at the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande yesterday, Robinson said the enhanced security measures introduced on January 18 have yielded positive results, despite initial negative press abroad.

“The JHTA supported this move by government and cautioned that respect for human rights be maintained amidst increased powers being granted to the security forces," said the JHTA president.

“The imposition of the state of emergency was met with a great deal of negative international press which clearly threatened visitor arrivals from Jamaica’s primary markets,” he pointed out.

According to Robinson, there were several cancellations, forward booking figures dipped and even guests on the island cut back on visiting attractions.

He added: “We were poised to have one of the best winter season and we ended up having a really great winter season. From all indications the enhanced security measures have won some positive results with the police reporting a significant reduction in murders, the recovery of illegal weapons and ammunition, the detention of several wanted men and an overall sense of calm being restored in Montego Bay.

“I tell you Montego Bay is the safest place to be ladies and gentlemen; a lot of civility has returned to Montego Bay,” he said to applause.

The JHTA president said the winter season showed positive results with increased arrival figures over the corresponding period the year before.
In 2017 there were 2.35 million stop-over visitors, which was an increase of 7.8 per cent, while cruise arrival figures of 1.92 million visitors were an increase of 16.2 per cent.

From January to May, 2018 the 1.26 million stop-over visitors reflected a 5.5 per cent increase over the 2017 figures, while there was also a similar 5.5 per cent increase in cruise ship arrivals.

But while Robinson expressed pleasure at the reduced crime figures for Montego Bay, he acknowledged and expressed concern that the criminals were taking their tyranny to other sections of the island and urged the government to continue the fight.

“Crime continues to be a major concern for our industry and we urge the government to put all the resources in place to curtail the spiralling growth,” Robinson told the meeting.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has once again hailed the increase in visitor arrivals to the island and acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the government and the JHTA in this regard.

He hailed the “substantial contribution” that tourism has been making to economy of Jamaica and said growth projections for the industry were ahead of targets.