Letter of the Day | Give off-resort wedding industry a fighting chance

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Twenty months after the onset of COVID-19 in Jamaica, and the off-resort wedding industry is still struggling to get back to work due to government inconsistencies and restrictions.

After all this time, it’s disappointing that the Government of Jamaica hasn’t taken the time to meet with the wedding industry and listen to the proposed solutions.

Tourism is bouncing back and Jamaica is just throwing away customers as if jobs aren’t a priority. The large resorts were given special exemptions in order to get back to business early on in the pandemic but off-resort weddings have yet to get an opportunity (aside from in July 2021 where they were able to piggyback on entertainment opening). The smaller tourism businesses, including the wedding industry, are still out of work or getting very little work.

What hasn’t been considered is that the off-resort wedding venues bring a lot of tourism to Jamaica, which now accounts for a loss of tens of millions of US dollars for the resorts, drivers and excursions, etc.

The wedding industry provides thousands of jobs, many of them paying more than minimum wage. The industry provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to earn foreign currency and those working in the industry are often the breadwinners for their entire family.

Why are so many Jamaicans still struggling to put food on the table when tourists want to come and get married in Jamaica? Why has prioritising all jobs on the same safety level not been permitted?

This industry is fuelled by tourists who are mostly vaccinated and ALL pretested for COVID-19 before arriving on island so there is no reason that off-resort weddings would be less safe.

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

The off-resort wedding industry is not asking the Government to open up a new sector; they are asking to be seen as part of the existing wedding industry. They are simply asking to be included in the activities that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has deemed and approved safe.

The solution is so simple and is exactly what has been offered to the big resorts.

1. Consistency of officially approved wedding numbers (based on the available space) that don’t fluctuate with media conferences is the key to getting everyone back to work.

2. Couples can then plan their guest list ahead of time as well as determine where guests sit, which is the best possible scenario for adhering to COVID protocols.

3. COVID-certified transportation will also be booked from the hotels, and venues set up with the same safety protocols as the hotels.

4. People are being given exemptions after curfew, so why not give the off-resort wedding industry these exemptions as well? Tourists don’t want to fly to Jamaica to get married in the sweltering midday heat; this is not ideal for comfort or photos.

Extending the curfew exemption by three hours will make the difference between making or breaking this industry, and the difference between tourists feeling like they got what they paid for and not ripped off by their wedding vendors in Jamaica.

And weddings don’t need to go all night; couples understand that these aren’t normal circumstances.

NEED BETTER PLANS

There has been no attempt to create a fighting chance for these businesses, never mind trying to accomplish a balance, which the Government claims it is aiming for.

Why are we sending tourists to other islands when we have so many Jamaicans out of work? We need better plans to get more people back to work safely.

Picking and choosing who can make money is unfair (unless there truly is a bigger risk).

We implore the Government of Jamaica to help the off-resort wedding and other safe industries to get back to work.

JENNIFER BORGH

Borghinvilla Wedding Venue