By Rayon Dyer, Gleaner WriterST. ELIZABETH:
TOURISM INTERESTS on the south coast are upbeat about the current 2003/2004 winter tourist season, which they say got off to a positive start on December 15.
The season has been great so far according to Jason Henzel, board member of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).
Speaking in an interview with The Gleaner on Monday, Mr. Henzell, who is also operator of Jakes Resort in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, said that the property was booked to capacity.
"One of the things that is important to our development is that we have what it takes to attract visitors to this section of the island," Mr. Henzell said.
"We cannot complain about the current winter tourist season so far because it is shaping up to be possibly one of the best seasons we might have on the south coast."
According to Stacey Matterson, operations manager of the famous Lover's Leap attraction, also in St. Elizabeth, the property has been experiencing an increase of visitors since the start of the season. She said the number of calls to the attraction was an indication that the current winter tourist season could be an active one for Lover's Leap.
"We are expecting a great season, especially when you see so many tourists coming in at the start of the season", she said.
Checks with the JTB's head office revealed that some 18 properties including accommodations and attractions were on the agency's website. This has been providing some meaningful advertising for the south coast-based properties.
Mr. Henzell said that some of the positive signs of this year were significant forward bookings from a number of travel agency, a very active campaign by the JTB as well as the attractive nature of the tourism product on the south coast.
