Where is the tourism dollar? LAST WEEK I was critical of the undue haste to lay off workers in the hotel industry. I may be a pie-in-the-sky idealist and of course I do not have a hotel to run, but I still believe that laying off workers willy-nilly is not the answer to the crisis facing tourism. Subsequently, it was suggested that utility companies give JHTA members a 'bligh' on their September bills. And I saw red. What are the hoteliers who proposed that particular measure running? Patty shops? If you are in business and you cannot pay for your light and water at the end of the month without using revenue from the previous 30 days, what are you doing? We are not talking about motels, sex shops or home-based bakeries here. These are large hotels, integral components of Jamaica's largest foreign exchange earner. I am not suggesting that hoteliers should have a cushion like the Net International Reserves, but they should at least be able to pay for flushing the toilets. Somehow I think that the proposal on utilities was limited to electricity and water. I can't quite see hotel operators asking Cable and Wireless not to cut the phones because occupancy is down. In any case, since occupancy has plummeted, shouldn't water and electricity bills be drastically reduced as well? There are just so many less teeth to brush, chins to shave and backs to scrub. Some utility costs are unavoidable, but above a certain basic level it should depend on occupancy, I would think. It would also seem that someone has been telling tall tales. If occupancy has been so great heck, MoBay was sold out for Reggae Sumfest 2001, Ocho Rios for Sashi 2001, both shows in August then how comes the hotels are so broke one month later? And don't tell me about the traditional September slow period. It's either money is there but hoteliers are pulling a fast one, saving the cash for something else which I doubt or somebody has been telling tall tales about occupancy levels. Hmmm. Earlier this year the Ritz-Carlton had a mini-crisis and there were lay-off rumblings. I wondered about that at the time, because the bookings had reportedly been going great guns. There are many factors beyond me, including loans and interest rates, but when a business looks to slash staff at the first sign of trouble it seems very strange. And very cruel. And very short-term, in terms of planning. And very unbecoming of the island's largest foreign exchange earner. Having lived in MoBay, ostensibly Jamaica's tourism capital, I have asked one question repeatedly. Where is the tourism dollar? Where is the evidence that this city has earned so many millions of United States dollars? To put it nicely, Montego Bay proper is a dump. Save for the Hip Strip it is a cramped little town where planning seems to have been a foreign word. The Bay must be very close to the top of the list of communities with the highest proportion of squatter settlements. There have been efforts to keep the streets clean and the traffic flowing and thankfully 'Crick' is now done. But I cannot see the benefits that this great industry has brought to its premier destination. And I am not talking about low wages to be hospitable here. Where is the public multi-sport complex that tourism has provided for the citizens of Montego Bay? Where is the educational institution, the health facility that this huge industry provides for those who live and work and make the city? Sure, I see the tour buses and taxis pull up at City Centre on cruise ship day. But I also see the tiny craft vendors having to siphon off a few visitors by luring them across the street with fake accents (I really hate those 'haccidents'). It would seem that tourism operates on the trickle-down principle, but there is precious little left after the big guys have finished slurping. Tourism is important. Very important. I like to see people come to Jamaica and experience a country that goes beyond television blurbs about gas riots. The industry needs assistance and should get it, but I get the feeling that some of the operators are taking a joke too far. The public purse provides promotion; the public purse provides incentives; the public purse provides infrastructure. Now you want us to flush your toilets too? Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
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