Rasbert Turner, Spanish Town
Minister of Industry and Tourism Aloun Assamba, has urged the St. Catherine Parish Council to put together a package to sell tours to schools, hotels and all the persons who are interested in historical and heritage tourism.
She was speaking on Thursday at the first sitting of the St. Catherine Parish Council for the year.
Dr. Notice, in introducing Mrs. Assamba to the council said that the reason for inviting her was to highlight the Old Capital as a potential tourist attraction for locals and visitors.
GEORGIAN SQUARES
The minister endorsed the view and added that Spanish Town had, undoubtedly, one of the most perfect Georgian squares in the world. She mentioned the Rodney Memorial building; the Assembly Hall, which now houses the parish council; and the former courthouse, which is now burnt out as some of the legacies that Spanish Town can utilise to earn tourism dollars.
She identified the iron bridge, a classical attraction in the town that is being allowed to rot. Mrs. Assamba implored the parish councillors to be proactive in complementing the vision for the greater tourism development triangle comprising downtown Kingston, Port Royal and the Old Capital.
She told them that if there is an area identified for tourism development, then they can apply to the Tourism Development Company (TPDCo) for assistance through the entrepreneurial enhancement programme.
Speaking to The Gleaner afterwards the tourism minister said the possibilities for tourism in Spanish Town are endless and that the people only need to be proactive to have tourism up and running. She said she visited places like the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba and that what we have here in Spanish Town is far better than what they have as a country where heritage tourism is concerned.
She told The Gleaner that there needs to be a training programme for local persons to assist in giving tours for visitors to the area, arguing that you cannot wait until you rid the Old Capital totally of crime before pursuing income earning activities on the ground. She presented a book to the Mayor of Spanish Town about the vision that the Ministry of Tourism has for the Old Capital.
