Visitors hang out at Jakes in St. Elizabeth last year. - PHOTO BY HAILE CLACKEN
BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth:
WITH JUST a month gone into the 2005/2006 winter tourist season, some hoteliers on the island's south coast are reporting that the season has been very low-keyed so far. But, while the inflow of visitors was slow at the beginning of this season, the hotel operators have admitted that things were looking better for the months ahead.
Speaking in an interview with The Gleaner on January 10, Lorie Nash, manager of Sunset Resort in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, said the hotel had 50 per cent occupancy and come February, the occupancy is expected to be 90 per cent. "This January is the slowest we have ever seen in three years. The 05/06 winter tourist season has been very low keyed so far, but despite all of that, tourists are calling the hotel and trying to get information on the property," Ms. Nash said.
According to administrative manager of Jake's Hotel, Tanya Parchment-Brown, things weregood to go at the property, mostly with repeat guests from the U.S.A. and Europe. She said in December, the hotel had 82 per cent occupancy.
GREAT WINTER SEASON
Mrs. Parchment-Brown said, "The month of January kicked off very well for the hotel, as up until last Friday, we had an occupancy of 93 per cent. By the first week of February, the hotel will be fully booked. We are enjoying a great winter season."
In all of this, the Treasure Beach Hotel, Invercauld Hotel and the guest houses across the parish are holding their own as it relates to attracting a significant number of visitors to the south coast.
Tanielle Elliott, sales and marketing manager of the Mandeville Hotel in Manchester, told The Gleaner that the hotel was enjoying the season. She said the property recorded a good number of guests in December.
- R. D.
