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John Lynch upbeat about tourism product

Published:Sunday | June 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
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Kim Walker (left), area director of group sales at The Ritz Carlton, exchange pleasantries with Dianne Melia (centre) of Nutronix International Meeting Planners (US) and Stephen Hahn, area vice-president of sales with The Ritz-Carlton. - Photos by Noel Thompson
Chef Mark Thompson of The Ritz-Carlton Resort and Spa prepares seared snapper for guests from left: Doris McCall, director of Le Mac Worldwide Meetings; Virginia Lee, of Lantheus Medical, California; Margaret Clarke, the Jamaica Tourist Board's Miami Groups and Conventions representative Lisa Lewenthal.
Director of Tourism John Lynch (fifth right) is flanked by Canadian and United States-based travel agents, as well as local tourism players at a welcome reception for overseas buyers at the 10th annual JAMEX trade show, held at The Ritz-Carlton in Montego Bay, last Thursday night. The event ended on Sunday.
Kirk Bethune (left), a chef at The Ritz-Carlton Resort, demonstrates his culinary skill for Director of Tourism John Lynch (right) and Ed Prokopik, director of LT Planning and Incentives, based in New Jersey, at a welcome reception for overseas based buyers at the 10th annual JAMEX trade show.
Chicago-based buyers in the travel industry, Carmen Gonzalez and Melvin James, enjoy the welcome reception.
Michael Loj (centre), a director of MICE Time Adventure based in Poland, shares company with Director of Tourism John Lynch and Marcia Bullock, regional director for Groups and Conventions with the Jamaica Tourist Board in Miami.
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Noel Thompson, Contributor


Director of Tourism John Lynch is upbeat that Jamaica's excellent product, unbeatable by any other in the region, will withstand the recent unrest in the country's capital.


At a welcome reception at the Ritz-Cartlton Resort and Spa in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, on Thursday, June 3, for meeting and incentive buyers, Lynch assured them that Brand Jamaica is as strong as ever, and it is business as usual for the thousands of tourists in the country. The group was here for the four-day Jamaica Meeting Expo (JAMEX) which showcases the country's tourism offerings.

"We have a job to do in the next few months because these impressions have a way of lasting, and we have quite an aggressive programme lined up to reassure people," said the tourism director.

Lynch boasted of the 5,000 new hotel rooms, the roads, the improvements at the hotels, the 165 attractions in the country, and, of course, the best beaches in the world. He urged the group to go back and sell the country to their many clients.

In an interview with The Gleaner, the tourism director expressed confidence that with the rebounding of the United States economy and, by extension, the rest of the world, the meeting and incentive market would reclaim its place and grow in the Jamaican market, especially with the number of hotels capable of housing large groups. Jamaica, he said, is poised to reap some of the growth in this industry and looks forward to some direct business coming out of this expo.

JAMEX, which started with the reception, continued on Friday with a trade show and site visits.

Now in its 10th year, JAMEX was first held in Montego Bay and, over the years, has been staged between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. This expo caters mainly to buyers in the travel industry who are based primarily in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. It affords local groups and properties the opportunity to meet and network with buyers who may visit their properties and have individual appointments in a trade show environment.