Plaudits on tourism alliance THE EDITOR, Sir: WHEN I heard the news last week Friday that arch rivals for almost 20 years, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart of Sandals and John Issa of SuperClubs had agreed to hold a joint press conference, I was pleasantly surprised. Their mission is to protect the tourism industry and Jamaica's economy as a whole from the effects of the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States. While it is unfortunate that it took a tragedy for these two main players to come together, at least we can say out of this evil has come some amount of good. I think it is one of the most positive steps that they could have taken. Our tourism industry is in for very difficult times and if this is one way of saying it then hats off to both gentlemen. The industry is Jamaica's largest foreign exchange earner and employs more workers than any other industry. Therefore, the economic implications are great. Already many sub-sectors are feeling the pinch and if improvements are not seen in the near future we will all be in for some tough times. Messrs. Stewart and Issa, congratulations to you Sirs. It is quite commendable that in an effort to save our fledgling tourism industry, you saw the importance of meeting to come up with new strategies to cushion the blows. This can only mean good for Jamaica. My only hope is that this spirit of unity will not end when things are back to normal. Please be reminded that we can have fair competition that is devoid of hatred and malice. Whatever the motives are, this is a step in the right direction. Keep it up. I am, etc., JOY-ANN GREEN Coral Gardens St. James
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