RESIDENTS AND business operators in Port Antonio are worried that major developments promised to the area by the government may not materialise.
"The town has been taking a beating for so long that many of us do not remember what it feels like to be elated over anything that is tourism related," explained Vincent Barnett, former president of JUTA in Port Antonio.
"We are all hoping that the Prime Minister will be true to his word as this town badly needs a change for the better."
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson several months ago announced a multi-million dollar development project for the town of Port Antonio, which will include an upgrading of the town's cruise ship pier and the building of a major yacht marina.
He has insisted that the project was not politically motivated but something that had been in the pipeline for quite sometime.
But some residents, having become accustomed to the town playing second fiddle to the other resort areas and not seeing much to suggest that construction will begin anytime soon are growing suspicious.
"I can't help but wonder if this will indeed happen," said Woolrey Wilson resident. "We have been fooled so many times that I am not sure why this time will be any different. There is a wait and see approach but most people are not convinced."
Derron Wood, owner of Derron's Tours and Car Rental agreed. According to him, the recent pronouncements by the Prime Minister were nothing new and noted that residents had grown tired of being fooled by politicians.
"We have heard all of this before so I don't think too many people would be surprised if nothing should materialise," Mr. Wood said. "If it happens, we would all be happy but you will not see many of us holding our breaths. It wasn't that long ago when they were telling us about all the grand plans they had for Eco-tourism in Port Antonio, that I guess has died a slow death like everything else."
However, Polly Perry, the Jamaica Tourist Board's regional manager, in an earlier interview, noted that Eco-tourism in the Rio Grande area was doing reasonably well and said that the resort town was poised for a break through in its tourism sector.
Port Antonio enjoyed its most productive period in the 1970's where the town not only established a long standing relationship with cruise line giants, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Caribbean Lines but was arguably the cruise shipping capital of Jamaica. The Boundbrook wharf, which was the official port, was soon joined by the Ken Wright Pier to accommodate an expected 1980's boom, which just never happened.
"It has been very painful watching the other resort towns flourishing while Port Antonio remains in the doldrums," explained businessman Howie Cover. "Our twin harbours were simply too small to accommodate the larger vessels and so they all went to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The people who designed the pier lacked the vision to see that ships would only get bigger in the future and so Port Antonio was left behind." The 2001 official cruise shipping schedule shows no vessel slated for Port Antonio but the town, as in previous years, is expected to get the odd one or two that occasionally gets re-routed from areas.
"It is a case where we have to take what we can get," said Pearlita Thomas, businesswoman. "Gone are the days when we had fleets coming here. We now have to be thankful for the small scraps that fall off somebody else's table. With the plans that have been recently announced, all this could soon be changed. It is no secret that Port Antonio has more attractions than any other resort town in Jamaica."
