RUI INTERNATIONAL Hotels in Negril is doubling its room count as it attracts in increasing numbers of visitors, particularly from its home market in Spain.
Adrian Bayley-Hay, tourism consultant with JAMPRO, Jamaica's investment and export promotion agency said RUI International Hotels is investing more than US$55 million in a new 400 room resort. This follows the construction by Riu of another resort with nearly 400 rooms in Negril two years ago.
The Spanish hotel chain base their plans largely on marketing their properties to European guests, particularly at home, in Germany and the United Kingdom. But in recent times, the Negril property has been criticised for targeting American guests, on the grounds that they were taking away business from the smaller hotels in the area, Mr. Bayley-Hay observed.
The arrival of the Spanish resort chain in the island with its first US$45 million property, was seen as an opportunity to attract more Europeans to Jamaica, particularly from Spain, and help diversify the island's arrival base. And this was supported by RUI's marketing efforts at home, he said.
In June this year, whilst the European Union market fell by five per cent over the previous month, and the United Kingdom and Germany, were down four per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, arrivals from Spain was up 26 per cent.
Coming from 504 Spanish visitors to Jamaica in January - June 2000, the figure increased to 1,327 in the similar period in 2001. And in the corresponding period this year, the number of Spanish visitors to Jamaica has increased by 79.7 per cent to 2,385, compared to a fall of five per cent and 38 per cent for UK and German arrivals, respectively.
When is doubles its room count in another eight to nine months, the number of guests is also expected to increase. And the current number of 375 full-time employees should double as well.
Contributed
