Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Government has freed up more than 3,000 acres of land in Luana, St Elizabeth, for a major resort development, Prime Minister Bruce Golding told delegates at Jamaica's first annual Tourism Outlook seminar yesterday.

Addressing the more than 300 hospitality stakeholders at the inaugural event at the Hilton Kingston hotel in New Kingston, Golding said the lands became available on Monday after Cabinet decided not to renew the contract of an oil exploration team that had been working the property for the last three years.

"We feel we need to pay more attention to the south coast as we seek to diversify all elements of the tourism sector," the prime minister said.

According to Golding, the Government was looking to explore various segments of the market on the coast, known for its unspoiled beauty and low density development, including eco and heritage tourism.

Mixed-use development

In fact, the south coast has assumed the title 'Home of Community Tourism', and has been promoted as such over the years.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett indicated that the 3,000-acre property would be proposed for mixed-use development, involving accommo-dation, marinas and an aerodrome.

Stating that this development was seminal to the opening up of the area, he said, "it will complement the other tourism entities, such as Sandals Whitehouse and Treasure Beach".

Welcoming the announcement, Diana McIntyre-Pike, of Country-style Community Tourism Network, suggested any major resort development in the area should be referred to both the South Coast Development study, which was funded by the International Development Bank and the Tourism Master Plan, and every effort should be made to get the community involved in any decision making.

"We don't want 2,000-room developments, as this will spoil the area and we want to go upscale," McIntyre-Pike said.