জামাইকা পর্যটন মন্ত্রী: ফরোয়ার্ড আরও শক্তিশালী - পর্যটন 2021 এবং এর বাইরে XNUMX

It is an additional privilege to serve as Leader of Government Business and Minister of Tourism. I thank the Most Honorable Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, for placing his confidence in me in both capacities in the House of Representatives.

I also thank you, Madam Speaker, the Clerk, and the committed staff of this Honorable House for the valuable role you play in so ably steering our nation’s parliamentary affairs.

I would like to thank my colleague ministers, their staff and public bodies, especially those whose work directly impacts the tourism sector. We all work together in the best interest of Jamaica, even if we view things from different perspectives.

I also extend special gratitude to the Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism, Senator Janice Allen, for her conscientious engagement with the task assigned to her.

Permit me also to say thanks to my Permanent Secretary, Ms. Jennifer Griffith, and the dedicated team within the Ministry and its public bodies, as well as the chairpersons of the respective public bodies, their board members and their executive directors.

To my personal staff, both in Kingston and St. James, I wish to acknowledge your contribution and thank you for your assistance.

Special thanks must be reserved for my constituents in East Central St. James, for your support throughout the years. I will continue to be the best representative for you and to keep working tirelessly to ensure that East Central St. James is a model constituency. 

A key project that we have worked on is our soon to be fully completed housing development – the Edmund Ridge Estates in Rhyne Park. Applications for Phase 1 opened in January, with 155 units for sale.  Madam Speaker, the project falls under the Ministry of Tourism’s $1 billion Resort Squatter Settlements Upgrade Program in partnership with the Housing Agency of Jamaica. We will also be regulating 535 households in the Grange Pen community of St. James through land titling and infrastructure upgrades.

This hard work could not have been accomplished without the help of my staff at every level in the constituency, and I commend them for their zeal and commitment. For Ed’s Tulip’s, I thank you for all that you do in making lives better on a daily basis.

As we navigate these challenging times, caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge our tourism partners and resilient stakeholders.

I want especially to thank the President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Mr. Clifton Reader and his executive, for the cooperation and support that they have provided over the last year.  I also acknowledge the work done by their immediate past president, Mr. Omar Robinson.

Last and by no means least, I thank my immediate family: My dear wife of 47 years Carmen, my son and grandchildren – they have stuck by me through thick and thin and I am glad that we continue to enjoy happiness, togetherness and good health.  

উপস্থাপনা ফ্ল্লো

Madam Speaker, we are fully cognizant of the fact that we are pressed for time and as such, I intend to go through this critical presentation with detail and precision.

আমি প্রথমে করব:

1.     Highlight the realities we continue to face because of the COVID-19 pandemic

2.     Outline the measures we have implemented to seamlessly tackle the pandemic

3.     Detail major policy initiatives which are and will continue to reap success with or without COVID-19, and

4.     Give a quick synopsis of the way forward

শিল্প রাষ্ট্র

বৈশ্বিক দৃষ্টিকোণ

Madam Speaker, the first official reported case of the COVID-19 virus was in early December 2019. Since then it has had a devastating impact on economies across the globe – with travel and tourism being among the hardest hit industries. Madam Speaker, it has undoubtedly been the worst economic and social crisis of our lifetime. Governments across the world faced tough choices on how to balance livelihoods and lives, which required unprecedented action and global collaboration.

According to figures in the just released World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) 2020 Economic Impact Report (EIR):

• The Travel & Tourism sector suffered a massive loss of almost US$4.5 trillion in 2020, with the contribution to GDP dropping by a staggering 49.1 percent compared to 2019; relative to a 3.7 percent GDP decline of the global economy in 2020.
• In 2019, Madam Speaker, the Travel & Tourism sector contributed 10.4 percent to global GDP; a share which decreased to 5.5 percent in 2020.
• In 2020, more than 62 million jobs were lost, representing a drop of 18.5 percent, leaving just 272 million employed across the industry globally, compared to 334 million in 2019. Madam Speaker, the sector has experienced a shocking loss in international travel spending, which was down 69.4 percent on the previous year.
• Meanwhile, domestic travel spending fell by 45 percent, a lower decline due to some internal travel in a number of countries.

আঞ্চলিক দৃষ্টিকোণ

The Caribbean region was also significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, primarily because we are statistically one of the most tourism-dependent regions in the world.

Data received from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) indicates that tourist arrivals to the region in 2020 declined to 11 million. Madam Speaker, this is a decline of 65.5 percent when compared to the record 32 million tourist arrivals in the previous year.

Madam Speaker, last year hotel occupancy across Caribbean destinations averaged between 10 to 30 percent. Unfortunately, many hotels and tourist attractions are at risk of falling into insolvency and receivership.

However, what is particularly interesting is that despite the obvious decline, our arrivals still proved to be better than the world average of 73.9 percent decline, during the same period. Also, when the borders in the region began to reopen in June, the average length of stay in 2020 equaled that recorded in 2019 – seven days.

The CTO predicts that this year the Caribbean will continue to build forward stronger, forecasting a 20 percent rise in arrivals, with a similar increase in visitor expenditure, when compared to 2020. However, international travel confidence may not significantly increase until this summer.

Madam Speaker, a true rebound to pre-COVID-19 figures can be achieved if we work together to contain the virus and undertake a combined course of action to market our destinations as safe, seamless and secure.