Howard HamiltonI WAS amused to read, against the background of all the noise and claptrap that's appeared recently in the media, that the much-vaunted master plan for sustainable tourism has encountered its first stumbling block, financing.
In fact, put another way, the plan hit a stumbling block on its way to the starting block.
When considered in the light of what the plan proposes we rely on to fuel the fires of the engine of our economy, I find the situation even more amusing. I gather that the plan lays great store in community tourism, a notion with which I have no problem in principle. The idea of friendly visitors eagerly trekking across our pristine landscape interacting with hospitable and friendly citizens who are eager to share the simple enjoyment of being alive in God's richly blessed Jamaica is a beguiling one.
But, let's get real. This is Jamaica, after all. Does a visitor have to be skinned alive before we come to our senses? After all, more and more of our citizens would think twice before going too far off the beaten track in anything less than an armoured vehicle these days.
Then, on the other hand, we have the noisy anti-gaming lobby who admonish us to avoid even discussing the prospect of introducing casinos as, in essence, easy money can't be good money. Better to earn salvation through sufferation.
From time to time, as this debate has waxed and waned in Jamaica's media, there have been sober voices that have advised that we need not consider this issue in a vacuum, without the benefit of practical experience and case histories. In this column I have frequently offered such case histories, pointed the way to websites and elaborate studies done by universities and municipalities. Weather this fell on fallow ground, we have yet to see.
A friend recently called my attention to some interesting information that was published abroad about the same time news was being published here about our ability to fund our own tourism development plan. It concerns the performance of that gaming facility-cum attraction-cum resort Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Of course, many readers will be aware of the persistent rumour that Mr. Sol Kerzner, Atlantis' developer, had actually come to Jamaica with his proposal before he went to the Bahamas. At the time, Merv Griffin and Donald Trump were squabbling over the purchase of Resorts International's holdings on Paradise Island. Legend has it that Kerzner proposed to build a mega resort that would literally blow them out of the water. Predictably, we said no. So he went and bought Paradise Island instead.
But, I digress. The point is, while all around us bemoan their failing fortunes as the ravages of war eat into market demand for travel and recreation, Atlantis is enjoying boom times. Now the largest single employer of Bahamian citizens after the government, Kerzner International has announced plans for expansion.
And why not? Its Atlantis resort is expected to produce record profits during first quarter 2003 and outperform the market, according to a Wall Street analyst. This despite the damage the global tourism industry is likely to suffer from a longer-than-expected conflict in Iraq.
William Schmitt, a CIBC World Markets analyst who covers Kerzner International, said the Atlantis resort's standout nature and close proximity to its core US east coast market would enable it to weather any extended travel market downturn produced by the war.
" Quarter four (of 2002) was pleasantly surprising, and in quarter one (2003) I expect to see more of the same from them, too," he said.
I find it equally interesting that Las Vegas resorts are reporting minimal to no downturn in bookings and cancellations. This trend was indicated after the 9/11 down-turn in business of a year and a half ago, when Caribbean tourism destinations that offered gaming as a central feature of their product mix, displayed the resilience to "bounce back" more readily than the rest. Pretty soon that "rest" will refer only to Jamaica.
As Messrs John Issa and "Butch" Stewart have advised, casinos will not be a magic remedy for what ails tourism in Jamaica, or for what ails Jamaica herself.
Their introduction to the tourism product mix will make certain regulatory demands of us that we will have to find the gumption to meet. But here are some irrefutable facts: Casinos can be enormously lucrative operations.
They have the potential to earn vast amounts of foreign exchange for the country. They have the potential to earn vast amounts of revenue for the government. They have the potential to employ large amounts of Jamaican citizens in jobs that pay well and earn generous tips. They have the ability to underwrite elaborate entertainment activities that will provide additional avenues of employment and open up new career streams. They will add a lustre and allure to Jamaica's tourism.
It is appalling, but true, that one can still find presented as floor shows and "native entertainment" the pathetic buffoonery of men husking coconuts with their teeth because some among us consider earning profit from gaming to be undignified and somehow beneath us as a people.
