JLP calls for plan to cushion tourism industry JAMAICA LABOUR Party (JLP) spokesman on tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has called for an immediate plan of action to cushion the hotel industry and the national airline, Air Jamaica, from the business fallout of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States. He said the crisis was having a profound effect on world travel and the local tourism industry was experiencing a level of fallout not experienced in more than 20 years. "The JLP considers that a plan must be immediately formulated to salvage the hotel industry and Air Jamaica," he said. "The national airline must continue to fly and maintain its schedule and safety records so as to build confidence in air travel and destinations in Jamaica as a safe zone for traffic." Mr. Bartlett said the rescue operation calls for an injection of substantial funds to support unexpected losses by Air Jamaica and many hotels, without which closures would be inevitable. He suggested an urgent meeting be called with stakeholders to draft an action plan. Last Tuesday, terrorists hijacked several aircraft in the United States and slammed them into the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. As a result, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) closed its airports and cancelled all international flights into US until late Friday when it started allowing flights to resume on a phased basis. The United States Government, in vowing to find the perpetrators of the attack, declared that it was at war with terrorism. Mr. Bartlett said the prospect for a long and drawn out war against terrorism was imminent, so appropriate responses should be made to cushion any uncertainty surrounding normality within the local travel industry. He said the JLP recognised that up to 35,000 jobs were in jeopardy, and that the livelihood of more than 150,000 persons involved in various aspect of the tourism industry could be affected.
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