NEWLY RETURNED president of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce, Dr Ransford Davidson, is urging the parish’s business community to focus on key areas in tourism to ensure a memorable experience for visitors, as Jamaica prepares for the 2024/2025 winter tourist season which begins December 15.
Davidson, in a Gleaner interview on Wednesday evening, said areas such as enhanced customer service training for staff, the promotion of local culture by offering the best quality products and unique experiences, and the promotion of sustainable practices to improve the environs and to satisfy eco-conscious tourists, need to be the focus.
“It is also important to note that the Chamber continues frequent engagement with the Port Authority of Jamaica and other stakeholders to expedite restoration of the damaged Ocho Rios cruise terminal by July 2025 and limit losses to local businesses,” Davidson said.
The cruise terminal was damaged in February this year after a cruise vessel collided with it during rough seas. Repairs are expected to cost in the region of $20 million.
Davidson said the Chamber is also working with the Ministry of Tourism and its agencies such as the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) to boost the tourism product through improvements of the aesthetics in townships, road repairs, and the general cleanliness of the environs.
Davidson is also downplaying concerns of the business community that international geopolitical risks and other global factors could negatively affect the island’s tourism sector, expressing cautious optimism that visitor arrivals would remain satisfactory.
In the meantime, Davidson, who was returned unopposed for a third consecutive term as Chamber president, said the organisation’s thrust remains strong and is focused on becoming “a powerful resource embodying a pro-business agenda”.
This is in order to achieve four main objectives: to ensure the interest of the business community from all industries is strongly represented; to bring both public and private sector business leaders together to collectively tackle challenges impacting various sectors in St Ann; to help members grow their businesses through best practice, networking, and advocacy; and to bolster the business environment to create employment and fuel economic growth.
Davidson is supported on the executive by Kenneth Anglin, 1st vice president, Andrea Mumby, 2nd vice president, and Humphrey Taylor, JP, company secretary.
New directors, Mahdu Mohan, Angela Strudwick, and Jennifer ‘Jenny Jenny’ Small, were installed and joined other directors already in place. These are Doreen Pindling-Williams, JP, Pixley Irons, JP, Everett Watson, Lorna Escoffery, Le Var Allen, Dr Janet Dyer, Cieanna Smith, Sharon Williams, Christopher Charley, and honorary director, Vana Taylor, JP.
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