THE JAMAICA Hotel % Tourist Association (JHTA) says that though most local hotels are enjoying an upturn in occupancy the positive trend may well be nullified by the hikes in telephone rates and that for electricity rates currently being considered by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).
JHTA President James Samuels, in a release, said that statistics for tourist travel to Jamaica, January - June, show an increase of nine per cent from the United States; 2.5 per cent from Canada; 7 per cent from the United Kingdom and 13.2 per cent from the Caribbean.
Mr. Samuels said that much of the growth could be attributed to the aggressive promotion of the destination both by the JHTA, Jamaica Tourist Board and the airlines serving Jamaica.
In particular he said, "Commendations are due to the national airline - Air Jamaica which is proving an invaluable ally, one that understands the market and is not afraid of shifting strategy to meet our special needs and circumstances."
Mr. Samuels said that following a very slow start to the winter 2000 season due to anxieties about the "millennium bug" and a wait-and-see attitude to travel, many hotels are experiencing summer occupancies of 50 per cent and over with some doing outstandingly well-in excess of 70 per cent. "Even the small hotels, though not totally full all the time are enjoying increased occupancies", he said.
But, the JHTA president noted, the positive trend upwards in occupancy levels is as yet fragile and may be nullified by yesterday's 24-38 per cent increase in telephone rates and the 12 per cent increase in electricity rates now under consideration by the OUR.
In fact, the JHTA is strongly opposed to the rate increases which they predict will have negative repercussions on the country as a whole.
In a letter to Director General of the OUR, Winston Hay, Mr. Samuels urged the OUR to give careful consideration to the proposal for increased electricity rates.
The JHTA said that in the hotel industry, electricity charges constitute one of the largest single items of expenditure for large and small hotels alike, representing in many cases, as much as 5-7 per cent of hotels' operating costs.
An increase of the magnitude being proposed, Mr. Samuels said, "would have a severely debilitating effect on the tourism industry, to the point of jeopardizing the financial viability of some entities with attendant serious consequences for the economy."
Noting that electricity rates in Jamaica are already substantially higher than its global competitors, Mr. Samuels said, "It is important to remember that an increase in electricity rates would precipitate increases in the cost of other goods and services and these, coupled with the significant increase just granted to Cable & Wireless, could be the 'straw that breaks the camel's back' for Jamaica's ailing hotel industry."
Mr. Samuels contended that the peculiarities of the hotel industry make it possible for JHTA members to recoup any increased expenditure from the consumer at any time in the near future, as room rates are established 12 months in advance. "In any case", he expanded, "it would be economic suicide for Jamaican hotels to attempt any increase in room rates in the current climate of such intense competition from destinations like Cancun, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
"The Jamaica Public Service Company's billing system already takes account of increases in the cost of fuel and changes in the rate of exchange, as monthly adjustments are made to the bills to compensate the JPSCo., for increased expenditure in these areas. It is therefore incomprehensible that, with major areas expenditure already covered, such a large increase should be requested, especially when the inflation rate stands at a mere seven per cent."
