Tourism fund ready for action

Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:

As a result of the success of Jamaica's athletes at the Beijing Olympics, the hefty billion-dollar purse of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has now been opened up for any feasible sports tourism development project suggested by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).

"We will look seriously at anything that will enhance the tourism product," TEF Chairman Godfrey Dyer told a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum held at the offices of Globe Insurance in Montego Bay, St James. He was being questioned about the role the fund could play in converting Jamaica's rich sports tradition into sports tourism.

An excess of $2 billion has been garnered from the fund since it was established in 2005, he said.

Promoting growth

The mandate of the TEF, under the Tourism Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, involves promoting growth and development in the tourism sector, encouraging better management of environmental resources in the island, enhancing the overall tourist experience and providing for the sustainable development of the tourism sector.

Dyer lauded Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett's initiative to capitalise on Jamaica's track-and-field success in organising an invitational 100m beach sprint event, slated for November 2009, and which will see some 30 international athletes and celebrities competing on a three-lane beach track designed by the Italian company Mondo.

This, Dyer noted, is "sports tourism and I am sure that the JTB will be looking more seriously on what more can be done in the area of sports tourism, especially with Jamaica's success at the Olympics".

Professionals needed

But well-known sports organiser Ray Harvey said the vision of sports tourism would not be accomplished if sporting professionals were not included.

Harvey, who is the organiser for the Milo Relays, charged that "Jamaica needs to engage a professional who is in the field of sports marketing and have that individual look at what we have to offer and determine how we can package it and market the product".

Jamaica had its most successful Olympics to date in Beijing, China, when its athletes brought home a total of 11 medals - including six gold - from the games. So extraordinary was the country's success at this year's Olympics, that Jamaica was listed second in the world with the most medals per capital.