By Roy Sanford, Freelance Writer 
Mcneill
WESTERN BUREAU:
DR. WYKEHAM McNeill, Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, has issued an appeal to tourism interests in western Jamaica to develop a united approach in their bid to assist the island's ailing tourist industry. "We must be decisive about what we want for tourism and speak with one accord," said Minister McNeill, who was speaking against the background of the recent criticism by some tourism players who have accused the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) of spending the majority of its US$32 million budget on administration at the expense of promoting Jamaica.
Speaking at last Saturday's 41st Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), in Montego Bay, Minister McNeill said that all those who have a stake in the industry must be united and decisive in their approach to it.
According to Minister McNeill, Jamaica has been suffering from an image problem because of events such as the July 7 disturbances in West Kingston. He invited participants at the meeting to reflect on the expression, 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.' "To me, it (the expression) means that the unified group is a million times stronger than the sum of the individual strengths in its members," he remarked.
"It is only through co-operation and commitment to a shared vision that we can move forward together," said Dr. McNeill. "We all must strive to strengthen the spirit of co-operation which makes tourism the finest example of how the private and public sectors can work together in the best interest of our nation."
Josef Forstmayr, president of JHTA, not only endorsed Dr. McNeill's call for unity but also expressed similar sentiments when he spoke. According to him, a united approach by the public and private sector could be the spark needed to turn around the fortunes of the nation's tourism product. "If we all take charge, public and private sector, and do what we need to do to bolster the (tourism) sector and prepare it for a new wave of travellers, we will probably see a turn-around by winter 2002-3," said Forstmayr, who had earlier stated that, "the (tourist) industry is in trouble and those who don't know this (had) better wake up."
Within recent months, the JTB has come in for heavy criticism from the likes of top hotelier Gordon 'Butch' Stewart and the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) spokesman on tourism, Edmund Bartlett. Both gentlemen have been expressing the view that the funds allocated to the JTB were being wasted, even as the nation was facing a decline in tourist arrivals.
"It is full time that all stakeholders in the industry have some input in the management and expenditure of the hard dollars which the industry earns and which the JTB continues to spend recklessly," said Mr. Stewart, who was speaking against the background of April's 22.6 per cent decline in stopover visitors to the island.
