Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

The verdict is still out as to which party series dominated the Independence weekend in Negril, but there is no doubt as to how much the events benefited the area.

In its ninth year, Absolute Entertainment's Appleton Temptation Isle (ATI) was held from August 5-9, while Red Stripe Dream Weekend was held from August 6-9 for the first time under its new name.

ATI promoter Alex Chin boldly declared the dominance of his party series.

"There are two weekends, but I think ATI has that international appeal. Based on our feedback, our crowd was two times larger than our competitor's," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Chin said the cost of promotion and production for the party weekend was approximately $60 million.

Preparation work started six months prior to the party weekend. Promotion increased as the event got closer, with advertisements on the Internet, radio, in the newspapers, television, flyers and magazines, as well as the ATI channel on Flow.

Chin said approximately 3,500 season bands were sold and each party had between 4,500 and 5,000 patrons, as tickets were also sold at the gate.

However, Chin could not state the profit, if any, made from the event.

"We don't know. We're still trying to clear up all the bills. I don't know what the profit will be. We're trying to work out if we at least broke even," Chin said.

Kamal Bankay, one of the promoters for the Dream Weekend, was unwilling to state the cost of promotion and production for his event. However, he said advertisement was done via print, radio, television, street marketing, flyers, billboards, super boards and lead-up events. He said six lead-up events were held for six weeks in four parishes.

Profit

Bankay also declined to state the number of tickets and season bands sold, or the profit made. Nonetheless, he said more tickets were sold than sold for ATI and RTI last year.

"We sold out the night before the weekend started. On Thursday, (August 6) there was a huge rush. You even had people offering money to buy armbands off people," he told The Sunday Gleaner, while saying that there were about 15,000 patrons in Negril for the event.

"We are still doing our finances. We set a target for ourselves and we delivered on that target spot on. We outdid ourselves. The feedback from the patrons is that we delivered the most consistent series of events. Some of the events set the bar where I don't think anybody else can reach."

Absinthe and Beer Vibes were both new to the Negril party weekend, but like the original parties, Bankay said they were all well attended.

The responses from patrons are as diverse, and in some cases subjective, as those from the promoters.

Dancehall artiste Flippa Mafia said he went to both party series but he believed Dream Weekend was better. "Dream did have the hotter parties dem. Daydreams sell off and the water park (Xtreme Wet N Wild) sell off," he said.

Shona Thompson, 18, said, "I chose Dream because I think Dream had better parties. Daydreams was a big pull for me because people always want to go where Daydreams and Xtreme Wet N Wild is, and The Dream Weekend had them."

Carlyle Moxam said he went to Dream Weekend because more people from his 16-20 age group were there.

Another partygoer, Patique Goodall, said, "I went to ATI for tradition. It's just always had a great line-up, so Dream didn't interest me."

Chaunika Reid said ATI lived up to all the hype that surrounded it.

"Pretty in Pink was fantastic, superb, excellent! Stages was obviously not a low-budget party! Two words best describe Tempted: 'sell off'! Wildsides was extremely wild! It was an excellent party, the best of both weekends by far," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

As the debate continues, one certainty is that the party weekends brought a lot of revenue to Negril.

"It is Negril's largest event. All the hotels were booked out. For Stages, we hired about 150 locals (from Negril), while the other events had about 30 to 50 locals," Chin saying, while noting that the various businesses in the area also benefited.

He said revenue is also generated for the service industry as the lighting, sound, food and bar services are used. In addition, he said the patrons spent a lot on hair, nails, outfits and transportation prior to the event.

Bankay said there was a huge influx of people in the area from Wednesday, August 5. He said more revenue is probably generated in the area from the party weekend than that made from Reggae Sumfest and Jazz and Blues Festival, which are held in Montego Bay, as more patrons are in Negril and for longer periods. Hence, he said, the benefit to the Negril community is great as the patrons spend more on food, accommodation and other services. In a previous interview, Bankay estimated that the party weekend generated about $500 million.

Jerk-chicken vendor, Richard 'Jerky' McCourtie, said he made a lot of money from the many people being in the area.

"It nice man, lots of business in the town. A di best business that to me, enuh," said the vendor, who operates on Norman Manley Boulevard beside the Blue Mountain Coffee Shop.

Marvin Daley, manager at the Midway Minimart, said the level of sales was three to four times better than regular days. He said there is usually an increase during the winter season, but he believed the Independence party weekend brought the most revenue.

Bike rental is also at its peak during the time. Cheeta, owner of the Happy World Bike and Car Rental said: "It really do a lot. That's the best I have for the whole year."

During the party weekend, he rented 19 bikes, four of which were rented to Elephant Man. Each bike was rented for between $3,500 and $4,000 per day.

Now that the season is over, Cheeta said rental is back to normal, which means a week could pass and he does not rent any bikes.

Foreigners

Resorts were not left out. Zelma Smith of Kuyaba Negril said all of its 24 rooms were occupied. However, larger hotels, such as Sandals Negril Beach Resort and Spa and Beaches Negril Resort and Spa did not have many ATI and Dream Weekend patrons.

There are also many foreigners who go to Negril each year for the party weekend. Chin said: "This year, it was the most tourists we saw coming in. Even at the Redemption Centre you realised that many were coming from overseas."

In order to get more tourists involved in the weekend, Chin said the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) could play a bigger role in both party series. At the same time, he said, help was needed in improving the infrastructure and security in Negril.

Bankay said the JTB worked with Dream Weekend and he looked forward to working with them next year, especially in helping to tap into the overseas market. He, too, noticed an increase in the number of foreigners at the event.

David Shields, deputy director for marketing at the JTB, said support was given to both ATI and Dream Weekend in the form of endorsements. He said an assessment was done by the events committee and based on that, the JTB decided that an endorsement was the best way to be involved with the events at this time.

"Their objectives must be consistent with those of the JTB. We take great pride in giving our name to an event," Shields told The Sunday Gleaner.

In order to give sponsorship, he said, the events would be scrutinised in a very detailed way.

"Our focus in sponsorship is to ensure that the marketing of the destination is achieved. We want to know that the infrastructural support is in place for the guests and the community at large," Shields said.

sadeke.brooks@gleanerjm.com