Bartlett targets high-end market
 
Juan Rodrigues (standing), Resort Condominums International (RCI) vice president of business development, addresses hoteliers at the Ministry of Tourism’s timeshare symposium held at the Hilton Hotel on Tuesday. Seated are (from left) Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism; Fritz Eisele, RCI vice president of business development for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Carrole Guntley, director general at the Ministry of Tourism. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

Government is currently working on a Timeshare legislation to re-introduce the concept of vacation ownership to the Jamaican market, which it beleives will be a gateway for the country to penetrate the luxury tourism market.

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, made the announcement at a timeshare symposium held at the Hilton Hotel on Tuesday. He noted that Cabinet has already approved and given the green light to proceed with the development of the legislation, which he is anticipating will be passed by the House in 2009. A team has been established consisting of various government departments and agencies to create the legislation.

The minister said that the timeshare concept will be an integral development tool for Jamaica to make inroads in the high-end tourist market, a market in which he said Jamaica is way behind its regional competitors.

“I thought that one of the things that really required a will to do was to bring timeshare legislation to Jamaica,” said Bartlett. “We decided to pull things together because this political administration has the will to do it and we know that ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.

“We wanted to do this because the Caribbean area is now a very hot spot for development and when you look at what is happening in Turks and Caicos, St Lucia, St Barts and some of the other destinations that are tapping into the top end of the market, the question has to be asked what is happening to Jamaica?” continued the minister.


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