Cultural tourism Jamaica: Butch' Suggests Dialogue to Improve Tourism Entertainment

Jayne Musumba wrote:
>
> 2000/11/14
> 'Let's talk''
> Observer Reporter
>
> SANDALS hotel chain boss, Gordon "Butch" Stewart, has suggested
> dialogue among the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission
> (JCDC), the island's performers and tourism interests as part of
> a strategy to enhance the quality, and range, of entertainment
> in hotels and Jamaica's competitiveness as a tourist destination.
>
> Stewart, through his Sandals and Beaches properties, operates 10
> hotels in Jamaica, the largest segment of his Caribbean chain of
> all-inclusive resorts. His hotels provide a major outlet for
> Jamaican entertainers.
>
> "Every act that is available in Jamaica that is of any quality we
> have had it in our hotels," Stewart said in an interview. "But
> the fact is that we operate in a very competitive environment and
> the quality and range of entertainment we offer our guests have
> to be on par with what they get in other destinations, including
> cruise ships, which are Jamaica's biggest competitors."
>
> Stewart first ignited debate on the entertainment offered in the
> hotel sector late September when he told reporters that
> Jamaican hotels needed to broaden the entertainment package they
> presented to visitors, if the island was to stack up to places
> like The Bahamas, Disney, Las Vegas and others, with both their
> variety and large, spectacular shows.
>
> Another Sandals official, Brian Roper, suggested that the
> government should perhaps relax its policies to allow more
> foreign entertainers to work the local circuit -- an idea that
> was shot down last week by tourism minister, Portia Simpson
> Miller.
>
> But Stewart explained that there was no intention to sideline or
> displace Jamaican entertainers, but rather to expand scope.
>
> "We are tremendous with reggae acts, limbo and some dance but we
> don't have the variety that is available in many of the
> destinations," he said. "We have to have that range and we have
> to do something to develop that. Maybe one way to start is to get
> an honest discussion going between the tourism sector, the
> entertainers and the JCDC." Stewart stressed that any suggestion
> that more foreign performers should be allowed to work in Jamaica
> did not mean shunning Jamaican culture or performers.
>
> "There is nothing inferior about top quality Jamaican acts so
> there is no need for a complex," he said. "Some of our acts are
> as good as anywhere, but we need to improve the range if we are
> to be competitive.
>
> "We will continue to be supporters of Jamaican music and other
> forms of entertainment," he said.
>
> SOURCE: Jamaica Observer
Received on Tue Nov 14 15:05:51 2000