Paul Reid, Freelance Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
SUMFEST 2000 should see a continuation of what has been a positive trend in hotel occupancy in Montego Bay, according to Josef Forstmayr, chairman of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA).
"While there are rooms still available at some selected hotels, most of the rooms in Montego Bay should be occupied by the start of the festival," said Forstmayr.
The JHTA chairman described the annual festival as an "exciting motor" for the tourism industry and said it was good for the city and tourism on a whole with the number of persons from overseas and other parts of the island that it attracted every year.
He noted that just about every sector of the city, from the hotels to the street vendors, benefited from the staging of Sumfest, adding that the festival was a major economic booster for the country.
Montego Bay has enjoyed good tourist arrivals since the start of the last winter tourist season, into spring and now early summer, Forstmayr said and added that the staging of Sumfest will help to continue the positive trends in hotel occupancy.
While he did not want to quote any figures, Forstmayr said some smaller properties were between 70 and 80 per cent full, while other properties including the all-inclusives were up to 90 per cent full going into the Sumfest period.
