- Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight (left), in discussion with China's Ambassador to Jamaica, Zhao Zhenyu. They were attending a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Kingston on Friday.
Andrew Green, Staff Reporter
CHINA IS about to make Jamaica an approved destination for its tourists, says China's Ambassador Zhao Zhenyu.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight, made the request for this status to be granted on a recent visit to China and it is about to be granted, the ambassador said. He was speaking at a press conference at the foreign affairs ministry in New Kingston on Friday.
"Jamaica will be listed by the Chinese Government," Ambassador Zhao said. He said this is likely to happen when China's vice-president visits the island in February. Just over 20 million Chinese travelled abroad last year, a 22 per cent increase over the number in 2002. Ambassador Zhao said that China should become the fourth largest tourist generating country by 2020, based on projections.
GREAT OPPORTUNITY
"When I spoke to the tour operators in China they spoke about 300,000 tourists (coming to the Caribbean) in five years," said Robert Stephens, senior vice-president of the Port Authority of Jamaica. "Approved destination status is a great opportunity for our tourism."
China has given this approval to 54 countries, the ambassador said. China allows its citizens to undertake group travel only to countries having this status.
Cuba is one of these. Cuba achieved this status last year and a five-star hotel is to be built in Havana's Hemingway Marina to accommodate the travellers.
"Chinese could travel to Cuba and proceed to Jamaica," Ambassador Zhao said. "I am sure that Jamaica will benefit a lot."
Discussions were held with the Cuban Government about a joint Cuban/Jamaican tourism package earlier this year, Mr. Knight said. "We are pursuing this at the highest level."
But to tap the potential of the Chinese market, Jamaicans need to be prepared to handle Chinese- speaking tourists, the ambassador said. At present the local tourist industry does not have personnel trained to communicate with Chinese speakers. Ambassador Zhao said the Chinese Government has agreed to send a teacher to the University of the West Indies to help with language training and that Jamaicans might also be sent to China to develop their skills.
