JHTA President Urges Faster Public Works Spending to Safeguard Jamaica's Tourism Edge

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica could surrender its standing in global tourism unless the Government steps up spending on roads, drainage, water supply and related public works in the island's resort centres, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President Christopher Jarrett cautioned.

Speaking at the association's 65th annual general meeting on Saturday, Jarrett said steady funding for tourism-related infrastructure is essential if the country is to hold its own in a tightening international market. He acknowledged the sector's recovery after Hurricane Melissa and the COVID-19 pandemic, but insisted that bouncing back is not enough to secure long-term gains.

"Our tourism product cannot continue to expand while the infrastructure supporting it struggles to keep pace," Jarrett told members, adding that "resilience should never become an excuse for complacency."

He cited Negril as a stark illustration of the gap. Although the destination ranks among Jamaica's most powerful tourism brands and remains a significant foreign-exchange generator, operators there still face weak drainage, repeated flooding, crumbling roadways, patchy water service and poor street lighting.

Jarrett said comparable pressures are surfacing in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Falmouth, Kingston, Port Antonio, the South Coast and other emerging tourism hubs, each needing sustained public investment to keep pace with industry expansion.

"These are not simply operational inconveniences," he said. "They affect visitor satisfaction. They increase operating costs. They influence investor confidence. And ultimately, they affect Jamaica's ability to compete."

The hotel sector leader urged that spending on roads, drainage, transport links, ports, water systems and shared public spaces be treated as core economic strategy, not ordinary maintenance work.

"Infrastructure is not a luxury. It is the foundation upon which every successful tourism destination is built," Jarrett said.

He argued that meeting Vision 2030 targets and keeping Jamaica among the Caribbean's top tourism markets will require public infrastructure upgrades to move in step with visitor-sector growth.

"Every improvement to our tourism infrastructure strengthens the visitor experience, attracts new investment, creates employment and improves the quality of life for the communities that support our industry," he said.

Jarrett maintained that money spent on tourism infrastructure should be seen as high-yield national investment rather than routine outlay, noting that well-equipped resort towns drive jobs, small-business activity, tax receipts, private capital inflows and wider community prosperity.

"When our ports improve, communities prosper. When transportation networks improve, businesses flourish. When resort towns are modernised, Jamaica becomes more competitive. And when Jamaica becomes more competitive, every Jamaican benefits," he said.