Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Despite jitters in the hospitality industry that the global financial crisis could affect Jamaica, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the sector would survive the mammoth threat to the country's top income generator.

"Tourism is accustomed to these periods as we went down the road of 9/11 and we got out of it quickly and now are in the lead," Bartlett told members of the Association of Jamaica Attractions Limited (AJAL) Tuesday during their annual general meeting at the Grand Palladium Hotel and Resort in Hanover.

It was just last week that top representatives at the Ministry of Tourism, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) met at an emergency meeting in Ocho Rios, St Ann, to discuss the possible impacts on the sector because of the financial meltdown in the United States.

He was quick to note that the solutions lay in market diversification, attraction development and airlift security will separate the country from its competitors.

Tourist attraction

As such, some $250 million from the Tourism Enhancement Fund will be used to refurbish the Milk River Bath in Clarendon, according to Bartlett in an effort to boost the health and wellness tourist attraction.

President of the AJAL, Marc Melville, echoed similar sentiments and reminded the members of their importance in the success of the industry in Jamaica.

"No other Caribbean country can boast the attraction diversity that Jamaica has and this sets us far apart from our competition," the AJAL president reiterated to its members.