Jamaica too blessed not to be a developed country, says TEF boss

WESTERN BUREAU:

The potential earnings from Jamaica’s tourism sector by 2036 must translate into wealth for all Jamaicans, not just those directly involved in the sector, says Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Speaking with The Gleaner on Saturday during the Rondel Village Resort and Spa’s 40th anniversary celebration in Negril, Westmoreland, Wallace said that the Ministry of Tourism’s ongoing Tourism 3.0 programme is geared toward building wealth across all of Jamaica’s industries.

“There are 23 million millionaires in the United States, which is one in 17 adults, and in Singapore it is one in 14 adults. In Jamaica, we have to have that mindset as a people to not just make a few people be wealthy, but to have one in 17 or one in 14, and to get a lot of people to be doing well,” said Wallace.

“That is why Tourism 3.0 is about investing in linkages to make sure that more Jamaicans are supplying what the tourists are consuming. We believe we are too blessed to not be a developed country, to not have a country where our people have a good quality of life,” he added. “Since tourism is doing well and growing, certainly, we can be a catalyst to facilitate the rise of other industries.”

Wallace pointed to Negril’s localised tourism industry, including the area’s beaches and venues like Rondel Village and the neighbouring Rick’s Café, as examples of the potential wealth that Jamaicans can benefit from.

“We happen to be blessed with so many natural and cultural assets. It behoves us as a people to really convert some of this blessing that we have into more opportunities to create wealth for Jamaicans,” said Wallace.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has projected that Jamaica should rake in $10 billion in tourism earnings and achieve 10 million visitor arrivals by 2036, under his ministry’s ‘10 by 10 by 10’ growth strategy.

In October, it was announced that Jamaica climbed four places in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index, rising from 82nd to 78th among the 110 economies assessed.

Meanwhile, speaking on Jamaica’s ongoing recovery one year after Hurricane Melissa’s destructive impact on October 28, 2025, Wallace said that the completion of upcoming hotel rooms’ construction will help the tourism sector get back on stream.

“There are some room stocks that are down, and that is the big bugbear that is keeping our numbers from getting past the pre-Melissa figures. But while that is happening, there are new hotels that are being constructed that are about to be completed,” said Wallace.

“In terms of the large hotels that are still under construction post-Melissa, the fallout in numbers is not commensurate, meaning, we are growing more than what the room stock is or should be. When those rooms come back on stream, we will grow significantly more and do so much better.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com