Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has underlined the need for more research to guide the tourist industry, adding that the approach must be compulsory if the country is to meet the global demands of the 21st century.
"Jamaica's tourism is projected to show continuous growth over the next five to 10 years," Mr. Patterson said. "That has to take place within a fiercely competitive global environment and therefore, tourism policy planning and implementation must be informed by factual, credible analysis, which is based on information collected by sound research methodology."
Mr. Patterson was speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of the International Academic Conference on Hospitality and Tourism at the Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort in Montego Bay, St. James.
"The exchanges augur well for tourism education and enhanced strategic positioning for both the national and regional industry," the Prime Minister added.
The conference, hosted jointly by the University of Technology (UTech) and the University of Delaware in the United States, is scheduled to end on Saturday. The three-day event came out of an agreement signed between the two universities in January 2003 for the establishment of linkages and collaborative activities.
TOURISM IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT
In addressing the participants, Mr. Patterson also stressed the need to be mindful that tourism impacts the environment and that there has been long-standing criticism of non-compliance with best practices in ways that will minimise pollution.
"It is critical that we fully appreciate and base our policies and actions relating to the industry on the fact that we share a single natural environment ... Therefore it must be protected and preserved not only with our borders but also as an invaluable regional resource," he stated.
Garth Kiddoe, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management at UTech, explained that research would be the focus of the presentations at the conference, the first such event under the agreement.
"The conference is an important milestone in the life of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management as we pursue multiple strategies to enhance the level of research activity by the faculty," he said.
