Members of a tour party led by Richard Azan, Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing, Water, Transport and Works stand outside the refurbished Sabina Park, following a recent tour of South Camp Road where road improvement works are still under way. - File

Kingston hoteliers, seeking to reposition the country's capital as more than a centre for business, will be pushing the message of sports and entertainment tourism during the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Jamaica.

Nicola Madden-Greg, chairman of the Kingston chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), has already begun touting the sporting facilities located in the capital as proof of its readiness for this approach.

"We have the infrastructure here, the National Stadium, the indoor arena. There is so much that we already have, and with Sabina Park being refurbished and upgraded we figure we can position Kingston more aggressively to go after that sports tourism major events capitalisation," she said at The Gleaner Editors' Forum.

For the Kingston hoteliers, the World Cup will be a perfect platform to showcase the potential of the capital for leisure tourism and, according to Mrs. Madden-Greg, the prospects are bright.

"For the semi-finals definitely, all hotels will be fully booked. For the March period if we are not fully booked now we will be fully booked. So we have already seen some traction for the Bed and Breakfast segment of the market as well," she said.