Foreigners now have a bigger stake in Jamaica's tourism industry, according to Edmund Bartlett, who last Wednesday appealed to local investors to reclaim the dominance they once had over hospitality assets.

Foreign investors now own 60 per cent of tourism assets, the tourism minister said, adding that just a few years it was Jamaicans who held that share. Then, there were more local players in the market.

"What we are saying is that Jamaicans have got to recognise that if they don't invest in tourism, others are going to come and invest, because when you grow as a destination you become attractive to the world and then you will lose the benefits of your own to others, unless you invest," said Bartlett at the monthly board meeting of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday.

biggest foreign investors

The biggest foreign investors are the Spanish, who since the mid-1990s - starting with the Riu Group - have poured more than US$2 billion into hotel projects, creating more than 40,000 jobs directly and indirectly, according to data from the Spanish Embassy.

Other Spanish groups which have invested here include Pinero, Iberostar and Fiesta.

Bartlett said that while, as minister, he welcomes foreign investors, he also considered it important for Jamaica to invest in its own product to retain more of the tourism dollar spent consuming Jamaican hospitality.

"There is a shift in the ownership structure and I am encouraging Jamaicans to invest so as to restore the balance of local to foreign investments as a key means of keeping the dollar here," he pointed out.

Bartlett issued a reminder that there is a 10-year tax break available to investors who either build new hotel plants or expand or upgrade their properties, and that duty is also waived on imported materials.

"They have the laws there to give them benefits if they want to go into attractions, resorts or if they went to into hotels," said Bartlett.

"They need to make use of the incentives that exist."

The laws covering incentives for tourism investors include the Hotel Incentive Act and the Resort and Cottage Act.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com