The Editor, Sir:

It is an indisputable matter of fact that Jamaica's tourism sector, like every other in every other country in the world, is operating within the prevailing economic crisis.

The letter by the Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill, published Thursday, September 24, has raised a number of issues that, while important, appear to have been expressed without due thought or regard given to the nature and impact of the crisis.

I trust that my comments here will help to expand Dr McNeill's understanding of the issues affecting the sector.

SECTOR PERFORMANCE

The Opposition spokesman states that with room stock having increased by 9.3 per cent in 2008, and stopover arrivals having increased by 3.4 per cent this year then occupancy rates and, therefore, sector earnings must be in decline. This is only half of the story. The fact is that we are competing in an environment that depends almost exclusively on disposable income and, in times of economic crisis, travel becomes one of the casualties of personal financial decisions that people make. Fewer people are traveling for leisure and business now than they did before the global economic crisis.

In this context, Jamaica's performance in attracting over 1,359,000 visitors up to September, which is a 3.8 per cent increase over last year, is particularly impressive. Jamaica is one of only two countries in the English- Spanish- Dutch- and French-speaking Caribbean combined to record increases in visitor arrivals.

DISCOUNTING

Discounting is a reality for virtually every accommodation, not only in Jamaica but in all destinations in the world. The math is simple. If you price your product outside of what the customer is prepared to pay, you don't make a sale. The consumer is not concerned about the internal considerations of the seller. If he likes the product but not the price, and knows he can obtain the same quality at a lower price elsewhere, then he will go elsewhere.

The international tourism market is at a stage where operators have to go for volume in order to survive. It is a stage that will pass but has to be endured now. The alternative is to close down. I dare to assume that that alternative is not being proposed by the Opposition spokesman on tourism.

He describes the repeated information about stopover arrival growth "as the ultimate goal is superficial and misleading". This would be true were it factual. We know all the factors that must be combined to create the very best experience for our visitors and the operators of businesses in the sector. Stopover arrival growth is one factor but one of extreme importance. You have to sell your hotel rooms and services and attractions to people. Their arrival at a destination is the first point in a chain of interactions that generate income for the sector. Our challenge is to continue to increase visitor arrivals to Jamaica and continue to oversee the development of this destination.

STRATEGY

We have been working hard and working smart to deal with our challenges and take advantage of the opportunities we know will come. In this regard, we have already secured additional airlift to Jamaica for the upcoming winter tourist season. We have in place, 850,000 seats from the United States and Canada. We are also expanding our marketing activities to South America, Europe and the Far East, including China, the largest market in the world.

We have also looked at our domestic market. On September 6 we launched Experience Jamaica, which is an ongoing programme to get far more of our citizens to visit our attractions and accommodations and to use the sector's services. These are just some of the things we are doing and we will continue to do more to make Jamaica the ultimate destination.

INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

I wish to dismiss out of hand the statement made by Dr McNeill that preliminary stopover arrival figures are held exclusively by the minister of tourism and me. The facts are:

Only final stopover arrival figures are published. These figures are available to all.

Preliminary figures are useful for trend analysis but are always subject to change. These figures are available within the Jamaica Tourist Board.

The tourism sector has continued to show growth and give hope in a time of challenge. Our efforts are not assisted by misinformation and, to that extent, I am happy to use this opportunity to expose the public to the truth about our sector and about us, the people who are responsible for its success.

I am, etc.

JOHN LYNCH

Chairman

Jamaica Tourist Board and

Director of Tourism