O turismo mal arranhou a superfície de seu potencial

IMPACTO DO COVID

Desde março do 2020, Jamaica, like the rest of the world, has been navigating an ever-fluid new normal in response to the unprecedented economic and social disruptions caused by the global pandemic.

A UNWTO has described the current pandemic as the worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began in 1950.  A recent IMF report found that in the first half of 2020, international tourist arrivals fell globally by more than 65%, compared with 8% during the global financial crisis and 17% amid the SARS epidemic of 2003. 

O impacto económico inclui a perda de entre 100-120 milhões de empregos e entre 910 milhões de dólares e 1.1 biliões de dólares em receitas de exportação. O impacto económico da pandemia nas viagens internacionais e no turismo foi sentido de forma desproporcional entre os países dependentes do turismo.

Caribbean tourism-dependent nations lost an estimated 12% of their GDP in 2020, when compared to 4.4% global economic contraction over the same period (IMF’S World Economic Outlook, October 2020).

A WTTC estimou que 6 milhões de empregos na indústria de viagens e turismo e mais de 110 mil milhões de dólares em contribuição para o PIB foram perdidos apenas na América Latina e nas Caraíbas em 2020.

De uma perspectiva nacional, a economia jamaicana tem sofrido uma hemorragia devido ao declínio acentuado nas chegadas de turistas registado nos últimos 16 meses.

For the last fiscal year, the Jamaican Government lost direct revenue from the tourism sector of J$46.3 billion through airport charges and taxes, Guest Accommodation Room Tax (GART), General Consumption Tax, Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) collections, cruise taxes, and other government taxes.

With the reopening of the borders on June 15, 2020, the total number of stopover arrivals up to March 2021 was approximately 464,348, as there were no cruise visitors during this period.

With the anticipated number of arrivals of 2.9 million stopover visitors for the April 2020 to March 2021 period, the estimated retained visitor expenditure was $199.4 billion.

However, with almost 500,000 visitors for the same period, the expenditure was only $44.7 billion and as such, the loss in visitor expenditure was $154.7 billion.

Arrivals at the end of 2020, were 1.3 million; of this 880,404 were from stopover arrivals and 449,271 from cruise.  This represents a 68.6% decrease from the 4.3 million visitors to the island over the same period in 2019.

Jamaica also recorded US$1.3 billion in earnings, which was a 62.6% decline in comparison to 2019.

For the March 2020 to March 2021 period, the estimated retained visitor expenditure was $217.9 billion. As there were only 600,000 visitors for the same period, the expenditure was only $52.2 billion and as such the loss in visitor expenditure was $154.7 billion.

In addition, in the peak of the pandemic, most hotels in Jamaica were operating at an occupancy level of between 15 to 30%, while the tourism labor force was reduced to 30% of its regular complement (174,000 direct employees); with those who remained employed being forced to work under conditions of drastically reduced hours and salaries.

O CAMINHO PARA A RECUPERAÇÃO

Destination resilience has been the centerpiece of our tourism recovery plan.  The phased reopening of our borders in June 2020, which signaled the restart of local tourism, took place under strict health and safety protocols that prioritized the safety and security of frontline tourism workers, our citizens and our visitors.

These measures had three main components – developing the required infrastructure; providing support to the Ministry of Health & Wellness; and educating all stakeholders about the COVID-19 virus and the protocols we developed to stem its spread.  

Specially assigned staff from the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), who are a part of the Stakeholder Risk Management Unit, along with members of the COVID-19 resilient corridor management team, have been closely monitoring the implementation of these measures to ensure strict compliance.

As a result, tourism entities have maintained a near 100% compliance rate along the resilient corridors since the reopening of the island’s borders to international travel.

Our World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) endorsed protocols complement our highly successful Resilient Corridors to the north and south of the island, designed to keep workers, communities and visitors safe by only opening an area that we have the capacity to effectively monitor and manage. 

I am pleased to say that the measures are working. To date, there have been very few cases of transmission of COVID-19 along the Resilient Corridors (a 0.6% positivity rate), which is proof that our highly regarded health and safety protocols are working and testament to the high level of compliance by tourism stakeholders.

RE-IMAGINANDO O TURISMO

Despite the pandemic-induced setbacks tourism’s future is looking bright. I have every confidence that the industry will bounce back from this crisis as it has done many times before.  Tourism is known for its resilience.

It is going to be a slow and arduous process, but we are already seeing very positive signs and I am confident that by 2023 we will once again be seeing significant gains.

The investment climate remains positive with 90% of the planned investments on target; in the year since the reopening of our borders (June 2020 to June 2021) we have welcomed over 837,000 stopover visitors (with arrivals increasing an average of 20% each month since reopening; and thankfully many of our 170,000 directly employed tourism workers are now back on the job.

The projections are also looking encouraging:

• 189,001 Stopover visitors are projected for July 2021
• Cruise arrivals are projected to resume in August 2021
• For January to December 2021, it is projected that Jamaica will receive 1.7 million visitors
• For January to December 2021, the estimated Foreign Exchange Earnings is US$2.0 billion

Looking further afield to 2022, Jamaica is projected to welcome 3.2 million visitors while earning US$2.7 billion in revenue.

By 2023 we will be well on our way to recovery with projections of 3.7 million visitors and earning US$3.5 billion in revenue; and by 2024 we will be back on track for 4.2 million visitors and US$4.0 billion in tourism revenue.

While the pandemic has thrown visitor arrivals and growth targets off track, it has forced us to rethink our strategies and chart a new course towards effective recovery and sustainable development.

The strategic framework for reimagining Jamaica’s tourism is being guided by the Ministry of Tourism’s Blue Ocean Strategy, which will allow us to meet our growth targets of five million visitors, five billion dollars in earnings and five thousand new rooms by 2025. It requires a shift in mindset as we seek to uncover hidden opportunities in the tourism industry amid the COVID-19 era economic crisis.

The Ministry’s Blue Ocean Strategy calls for the creation of business models that depart from traditional models based on head-to-head competition and gaining market share. Instead, it will see our Ministry pursuing enhanced value-creation, through product differentiation and diversification.

How will we go about it? We will be training and building the capacity of our people; renewing our focus on destination assurance; leveraging our culture and heritage to tell the authentic Jamaican story; making music a more predominant and inclusive part of the visitor experience; and creating programs to get visitors out of the hotels to experience authentic Jamaica.

Also, we will be undertaking major transformational projects in the sector, e.g., Montego Bay’s Hip Strip, connecting Montego Bay by Water, and the development of St. Thomas as our next tourist destination.

Estes são apenas alguns exemplos de como planejamos girar para o domínio do turismo enquanto impulsionamos o crescimento econômico, melhorando os meios de subsistência e criando empregos.

We are still in the embryonic stages of building out the Ministry’s Blue Ocean Strategy, but we believe it will force us to push the boundaries of our tourism industry, so we can offer our visitors unique experiences of immense value.  At the same time, these developments provide tremendous investment opportunities.