Allen wants part of tourism earnings reinvested in crime fighting
Published:Wednesday | June 28, 2023 | 1:22 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is being urged by his opposition counterpart, Senator Janice Allen, to use some of the revenue generated from the industry to address the country’s crime issues and make Jamaica safer and more welcoming for locals and visitors.
Allen made that call while addressing delegates and supporters of the People’s National Party (PNP) during the public session of the party’s Granville Division conference at Granville Primary and Infant School in St James on Sunday night.
While she praised the quick response of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to last week’s armed robbery at the FDR Resort in Runaway Bay, St Ann, she also pointed out the pressing need for the billions of dollars the industry has earned to be reinvested in Jamaica to improve the tourism product.
“It’s not about collecting awards; it’s about reinvesting because when you have your business and you earn money, you reinvest to make it better,” Allen said, as she accused the tourism minister of jetting around the world every week.
She said: “I am calling upon the minister to spend some of the billions that have been earned by tourism to keep the industry safe, so that the workers in the industry do not have to stand up to gunmen again, but that they will be protected because the minister reinvests in the industry.”
About 3 a.m. last Friday, armed men entered the hotel’s office and robbed the night manager.
Detectives from the St Ann Police Division and specialists from the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch are conducting a top-level investigation into the incident.