By Claudine Housen, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
MONTEGO BAY hotelier and president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Godfrey Dyer has restated his case for casino gambling to be introduced in the tourist industry.
"We are still lacking in night time attractions," he told the annual general meeting of the Association of Jamaica Attractions Limited (AJAL) at Glistening Waters Restaurant and Marina in Trelawny on Saturday. "You find a tourist in a hotel, whether it is all-inclusive or European Plan (EP), after they have watched the activities within that hotel for two or three nights a seven-night guest has nothing to do."
Re-appointed to his fourth term as AJAL president, John Gourzong told The Gleaner that he fully supported Mr. Dyer's call.
"We feel that casino gambling is critical," Mr. Gourzong said. "It is not going to be something that is suddenly going to mean that we have an increase of 10 million visitors, but what it does is give us a competitive edge and makes us more competitive with other destinations."
The introduction of casinos will provide additional entertainment, including gambling tables, night clubs and cabaret shows, Mr. Dyer said. "This, in my opinion, is what is going to pull people out of the hotels."
The JHTA president acknowledged that there were places of amusement that carry a casino-like setting but they do not do enough to pull the type of clientele he said.
Using Montego Bay's Coral Cliff as an example, Mr. Dyer said, "What Coral Cliff has is a gaming room and nobody is going to leave wherever they are in the world, the U.S., Canada or elsewhere, to come to Coral Cliff."
Only visitors already in Jamaica will visit the Coral Cliff, he said. "I am talking about full-fledged casinos with nightclubs and top-rated shows. Coral Cliff is doing a really excellent job but that is not nearly what a full-fledged casino is like."
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said in April that the Betting, Gaming, and Lotteries Commission was engaged in a comprehensive review of casino gaming.
