THE St Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation will, within the next 15 months, initiate a series of programmes geared toward improving the tourism product across the island’s south coast.

“What we hope to see at the end of the 15 months is a tremendous increase in the number of visitors to the south coast. Hopefully we’ll realise our target of a 50 per cent increase in visitors to the area within a year after the programme and at least 80 to 90 per cent of returning visitors,” executive director for the foundation, George Watson, told the Observer.

“Hopefully we would have trained 100 people and exposed another 300-500 to tourism. The effect of all this will be that we would have assisted in creating a better standard of living for our people on the south coast.”

The programmes fall under the broad purview of the area’s Tourism Improvement Programme. According to Watson, the Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC) has already made $5.2 million in funding available.

Under the programme, the foundation will collaborate with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), to develop a joint strategic marketing plan for Clarendon, St Elizabeth, Manchester and Westmoreland. The marketing plan will include the development of a website for each parish, which will feature what they have to offer. Residents will also be educated about the importance of the tourism industry to their development.

In addition to the marketing plan, Watson said they would also facilitate the training of 96 persons in hospitality and home management, front desk operations, community tourism and tour guiding.

They will also be forming eight community groups — two in each parish — to help ensure that whatever improvements are made are sustained. And within the next three to four months, they hope to lift the standards of small hotel properties in the participating areas in an attempt to have them meet standards set by JTB and TPDCo. To achieve this objective, Watson said, a group of consultants would be selected to conduct a series of workshops and consultations with the management and staff of the properties involved.