Focus on linkages hub

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica is placing an increasing emphasis on tourism “linkages,” or the various businesses that support the country’s major tourist sector.

The plan is to emphasize the work of Jamaica’s “linkages hub” to create opportunities for businesses in sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, entertainment and service.

“Coming on the heels of the just concluded JAPEX (Jamaica Product Exchange), the [Tourism Ministry] would like to continue creating the opportunities to strengthen the local sector’s ability to provide the tourism industry with the inputs that they use,” said Project Manager for the Tourism Linkages Hub, Carolyn McDonald-Riley.

Clyde Harrison, Executive Director of Jamaica’s Tourism Enhancement Fund, said that, as the number one foreign exchange earner, tourism has made a “significant” contribution to the country’s economy.

“It is an industry that is tied into so many other industries, so we have to look at it holistically and look at the contribution in its entirety because it presents a lot of opportunities for all other business sectors,” Harrison said.