Jamaica, faced with a fresh round of negative publicity in the international media arising from the recent imposition of a State of Emergency in the parish of St. James, is striving to assure skeptical would-be travelers that it is still safe to take their vacation here.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, responding to a UK Foreign Office warning to its citizens traveling to the tourist destination of Montego Bay, the capital of St. James, told the UK’s Independent Newspaper on Sunday that it is safe to do so.
The Foreign Office, in its warning to British tourists, is urging them to remain within “gated guarded compounds except on hotel operated excursions or airport transfers.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the State of Public Emergency last Thursday, in the face of a growing crime problem in St. James, at the north western end of the island, where 335 murders were committed last year.
Many of these murders were gang related as rivals went after each other to settle scores over turf and other differences.
Accordingly, Bartlett told the British newspaper that visitors to the island should not feel threatened.
“These enhanced security measures are not out of the ordinary in international tourism markets and therefore would be understood by visitors and welcomed by residents,” he declared.
In light of the importance of bringing the situation under full control, he said the country’s tourism stakeholders had given their full support to the State of Emergency, “and are feeling that these actions are welcome to ensure the safety of Jamaica’s guests and citizens.”
The Independent said the Jamaican tourism minister appeared to contradict the advice from the UK for holidaymakers to stay in their hotels by saying: “There is no need to modify movements as restrictions in the stated areas should not adversely impact law abiding persons.”
The State of Emergency in St. James also looks set to affect visitor arrivals from other countries, with some would-be travelers from Canada also reportedly seeking to cancel their vacations in Jamaica and go elsewhere.
Jamaica, significantly dependent on tourism, has been enjoying a boom in visitor arrivals, recording more than four million stop-over and cruise passenger visits last year.
There have also been substantial new investments in the industry over the last decade, with huge infusions of foreign capital in the construction of new hotels and attractions.
