Comply or shut down: Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism warns hotels and resorts

Comply or shut down: Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism warns hotels and resorts
Jamaica Tourism Minister
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Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has warned that tourism entities that fail to comply with health and safety protocols designed to facilitate the phased reopening of the tourism sector, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will be shut down.

Speaking at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester, during a tour of the newly opened South Coast Resilient Corridor on the weekend, the Minister stressed that: โ€œIf you are not COVID compliant we are going to shut you down and whether youโ€™re big or youโ€™re small, because we cannot compromise on health security.โ€

The new corridor was introduced on July 15. Similar to the North Coast Resilient Corridor, which was introduced in June, this area will welcome visitors with robust health and safety protocols.

Minister Bartlett said: โ€œThe start of the South Coast phase of the reopening is very important to us,โ€ noting that โ€œthis is a really popular region for Jamaicans and some international visitors because this is country style tourism.โ€

Mr. Bartlett underscored the importance of tourism interests working in collaboration with various ministries and agencies, including the Ministries of Tourism and Health and Wellness, in ensuring adherence to the protocols and effectively managing the process of containing the virus โ€œto keep Jamaica safe, secure and seamless for ourselves first and our friends and visitors.โ€

A team is in place, comprising government personnel and private sector stakeholders, to monitor and ensure compliance. โ€œSo, the message to the South Coast is that this corridor is going to be managed as tight, if not tighter, as we are trying to manage the Northern corridor and breaches within this corridor are going to be met with very strong action,โ€ said the Tourism Minister.

Comply or shut down: Jamaicaโ€™s Minister of Tourism warns hotels and resorts

TREASURE BEACH – Chairman of the South Coast Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and owner of Jakes Hotel, Jason Henzell (3rd right), brought Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (2nd left) up to date on the preparedness of tourism stakeholders along the newly opened South Coast Resilient Corridor, when he toured recently to see and hear first-hand from them. Behind Mr Bartlett is Executive Director of Jamaica Vacations Ltd. (JAMVAC), Joy Roberts and at centre is Destination Manager for the South Coast, Jonathan Bamidele.

He continued that โ€œIโ€™m not going to mince words on it, the instruction from me is to shut them down if they donโ€™t comply. This is not just a South Coast edict, this is a Jamaica edict, itโ€™s for every tourism facility that is operating in Jamaica.โ€

Minister Bartlett said: โ€œSo if you are a little man and youโ€™re not compliant if youโ€™re a medium-sized man and youโ€™re not compliant if youโ€™re a big man and youโ€™re not compliant, any man you are and you are not compliant, youโ€™re going to be treated the same.โ€

Minister Bartlett outlined that Jamaica has to be strong in its resolve โ€œbecause we recognize that weโ€™re operating in a global community that is still not compliant fullyโ€ with the spread of the virus being seen in Jamaicaโ€™s source markets โ€œin a manner that is frightening to some of us.โ€

The South Coast Tour also entailed stops in Black River and Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, including visits to Jakes Hotel; Jack Sprat Restaurant, and the Lashings Boutique Hotel, as well as a stakeholder meeting.

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About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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