Restore Jamaica’s Tourism Competitiveness for Higher Economic Growth – Joe IssaA Story by Pearlitta FollettFormer economics student at the renowned UK-based London School of Economics and Political Science Joe Issa has said that, if the Tourism industry is to contribute more towards economic growth, its coFormer
economics student at the renowned UK-based London School of Economics and
Political Science Joe Issa has said that, if the Tourism industry is to
contribute more towards economic growth, its competitiveness which has been
falling over the years must be restored. “Jamaica
has been slipping badly over the years in the competitiveness of its main
product " tourism " and that is as a result of the country falling short in several
areas, which I see are now being addressed,” Issa says, adding, “We will
realize the true potential of the sector in terms of its contribution to the
economy, only when we have restored its competitiveness.” Issa
was speaking against the background of several policy measures being undertaken
by the government to boost the tourism sector and the economy, including a
pension scheme for tourism workers, additional tourism linkages networks which will
leverage Jamaica’s prowess in sports, entertainment, culture, heritage, health
and wellness, and gastronomy, as well as a new air services agreement with
Canada, an enabling business environment, ICT readiness and improvement in
safety and security of citizens. Stating
that the administration has selected the critical areas that need to be improved
in order for Tourism and Jamaica to be more competitive, Issa says the thrust
is long overdue as the sector has been allowed to slip for far too long. Issa’s point
is shown to be true by a series of biennial reports from as far back as 2007
when it was first published. In addition, the government’s recent choice of
policy measures is found to be consistent with those found wanting by the
reports and which need improvement in order to enhance the competitiveness of
the tourism product and enable it to make a greater contribution to national
development. 9 August 2007. 15 September 2008. 2 April 2009. 9 May 2010.
5 August 2011. From sub-prime to downgrade, the five stages of the most serious
crisis to hit the global economy since the Great Depression can be found in
those dates. The Travel
& Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) reports published by the World
Economic Forum show that Jamaica’s competitiveness slipped 17 places between
2007 and 2011, during which, the global
economy was hit by the most serious crisis since the Great Depression. According to the Guardian, from
sub-prime to downgrade, the global financial crisis occurred in five stages - 9
August 2007, 15 September 2008, 2 April 2009, 9 May 2010, and 5 August 2011. However, the
problem remained even in better days, falling 11 more places to 76th
between 2013 and 2015. Analysts say by measuring the set
of factors and policies that enable the tourism sector to grow sustainably and contribute
to the development and competitiveness of the country, the TTCI is a tablet of
policy prescriptions for countries seeking to address their deficiencies. Benchmarking five enabling environment pillars and values " business
environment, human resource and labour market, ICT readiness, health and
wellness, and safety and security " Jamaica was found to have performed well
below its top competitors over the years. In the 2015 report, Jamaica’s overall index of 3.59 was a long
way below the best in the world " Spain " with 5.32. CARICOM partner Trinidad
& Tobago was seven places in front of Jamaica with 3.71. In the individual pillars, the best in the world had an index of 6.13 in
business environment, compared with Jamaica’s 4.44, and for safety and security
it was 6.7 compared with 3.83 for Jamaica. In health and hygiene Jamaica had an index of 4.66 compared with the best
global index of 6.97. For human resources and labour market Jamaica scored 4.61
compared with 5.64 by the world’s best, and in ICT readiness, the index for the
global best was 6.3 compared with Jamaica’s travel and tourism competitive
index of 3.7. The TTIC report last year noted that much improvement is needed in all
the pillars in order to get Jamaica on par with the major destinations, thus
justifying the government’s latest policy initiatives taken to make tourism
more competitive and increase its contribution to the economy. The report blamed the decline in
competitiveness on weaknesses in Safety and Security, and Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) readiness, while noting the relatively good
marks earned in Business Environment, Health and Hygiene, and Human Resources
and Labour Market. Structure of
T&TCI
The T&TCI said, however, that Jamaica
has work to do in air transport infrastructure, protection of its natural and
cultural resources as well as business travel, stating they were found to be common
tourism and travel issues in Caribbean countries, most of which rely
extensively on their famous beaches, but do not seem to sufficiently promote
their cultural resources. The report stated that Caribbean
countries could further improve their competitiveness, if more is done to promote
and leverage their cultural heritage. It noted that lower than expected
performance on the Natural Resources pillar is partly due to a lack of UNESCO
Natural Heritage sites and a low percentage of land being officially
protected. In a 2014 article in US-based news distributor PRWeb,
Issa had backed the government’s application for inscription of the Blue and
John Crow Mountains National Park on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, stating this
would enhance tourism and business. And when the site finally made it to UNESCO’s World
Heritage List in 2015, Issa was once again reported hailing the success, saying
“it’s great news for Jamaica’s tourism product… Monetization and protection of
the site should begin in earnest.” While Jamaica was ranked 11 out of 141 for its Prioritization of Travel and Tourism, it fell badly to 99 in Price Competitiveness which Issa says, among others, “does not augur well for Jamaica…we have to become more affordable to visitors.” © 2017 Pearlitta Follett |
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Added on January 25, 2017 Last Updated on January 28, 2017 Tags: Joe Issa, Joe Issa Jamaica, Joey Issa, Joey Issa Jamaica, Joseph Issa, Joseph Issa Jamaica, Joseph J. Issa, Joseph J. Issa Jamaica, ICT, Tourism and Jamaica, TTIC, UNESCO. Author
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