JAMAICA | Fixing Jamaica for Jamaicans will improve our visitor experience says Senator Janice Allen

MONTEGO BAY, September 27, 2022 - Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages, Senator Janice Allen, says fixing Jamaica for Jamaicans is one of the best ways to attract, impress and retain visitors who travel to Jamaica for a vacation experience.

Senator Allen was delivering her World Tourism Day message, as she celebrates Tourism Awareness Week, under the theme “Rethink Tourism”.

“While we are aware that tourism is about foreigners visiting our island and enjoying the various attributes  of our country, the experience itself has become one that is foreign to the average Jamaican.

“We have been cultured to believe that the best of Jamaica should be preserved for our visitors. We believe in fixing roads, providing safe spaces and many other comforts to attract and impress our foreign guests. However, imagine a Jamaica that is safe, clean and prosperous for all Jamaicans. That Jamaica would attract and impress even more tourists,” she said.

“We must acknowledge and applaud the workers in the tourism sector for their resilience. The last two years have been difficult but you have stuck it out and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We ought to salute all levels of participants in the sector. It is incumbent on us to work towards an even more inclusive tourism sector with deeper benefits for all, from the hills of St  Andrew to the plains of St. Elizabeth and the beaches of Negril,” Senator Allen declared.

“Tourism fuels our economy but so often ordinary Jamaicans do not feel the benefits from the sector . This feeling of being ‘left out’ also applies to our tourism workers. By rethinking tourism we need to work towards a reality in which all Jamaicans feel a part of, can participate in and reap benefits from a vibrant tourism sector. That is how we should rethink tourism,” Senator Allen concluded.