Above: the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

While Jamaica has been doing good work “in spurts,” the country must “begin to press [ahead] on transformational projects,” according to Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill.

Those projects include some in areas such as Port Royal, Falmouth, Ocho Rios and Spanish Town, he said, ones that “will have a larger impact and involve and benefit even more Jamaicans.”

McNeill was speaking Tuesady at the staff awards luncheon for Jamaica’s Tourism Product Development Company in New Kingston

With Jamaica facing significant economic challenges, McNeill said the tourism sector would be “pivotal” in efforts to revitalize the country’s economy.

“As we forge ahead to transform our tourism product, only the highest ethical standards, the best technical standards, the utmost professional standards will be good enough,” he said. “Success will require prudent planning and the creation of a holistic policy framework to foster the sustainable development and transformation of our tourism product.”

Today’s travelers are “ever more discerning, more sophisticated and require higher standards across the board,” he said.

“We must be nimble in our response to the changes, so that we can assist our stakeholders and, by extension, Jamaica’s tourism industry, in maintaining its competitive advantage,” he said.