By Janet Silvera and Rayon Dyer, Gleaner WritersEARLY INDICATIONS are that the winter tourist season has not been severely affected by Hurricane Ivan, says Godfrey Dyer, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).
"As of mid-November we should start seeing some positive improvements in terms of our arrival figures, as we are receiving very strong signals from our tour operators overseas," the JHTA head told The Gleaner.
Mr. Dyer's optimism was shared by one of the island's largest buyers (tour operators/ wholesalers), Air Jamaica Vacations, which said its forecasts are ahead of last winter season.
"Except for the month of January, we are pacing ahead of last year," said Mike Norton, vice-president of marketing for the organisation.
MEETING THE TARGET
The wholesaler, which sells the majority of Jamaican hotels offered by United States tour operators, said the island has done a phenomenal job in the recovery process. "Jamaicans have been known for their resilience and this is what is being displayed throughout the industry."
Checks made with a number of hoteliers revealed that their bookings point to occupancy levels ranging between the mid-80s for the month of November and low-80s in December.
The 488-room Wyndham Rose Hall confirmed that it will meet its target. "It's looking good. November is at present sitting at what we had budgeted for and local groups that we lost in September rebooked for October," said Carol Burke, hotel manager of the resort.
In Negril, the 150-room Point Village Resort reported that the winter season looks good, although bookings are currently slow until mid-November.
FAVOURABLE RESPONSE
Evelyn Smith, the hotel's director of marketing, said she spent an entire time last week visiting her major trade partners in Newark, New Jersey, Chicago and New York and found their response to be quite favourable.
While the U.S. market seems ready to rebound, Canada is looking even better.
One of Montego Bay's leading tour operator, Exclusive Holidays, recently sealed a deal with Sun Wing Vacations to bring in over 400 visitors from Toronto twice weekly for the next year, commencing this Friday.
On the south coast, hotelier Jason Henzell told The Gleaner that properties there have been doing well in picking up the pieces after the hurricane. "Thank God, up to 90 per cent of the hotels and guest houses are ready and in good shape for the upcoming winter tourist season," said Mr. Henzell, who operates Jake's Hotel.
"We are definitely looking forward to a positive 2004/2005 winter tourist season. Despite the effects of the hurricane, I am confident that all the tourism related properties on the south coast will be ready for what is expected to be a bumper season," added Dr. Marc Panton, president of the St. Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce.
In the meantime, the Jamaica Tourist Board has mobilised its public relations team and has been aggressively stimulating the marketplace through trade shows with the tour operators. In November, the television adverts that were absent during the summer will resume on a number of major networks.
Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook also said there will be a big travel agent fly-in at the end of October, involving "300 agents from all over the United States".
