JAMAICA Labour Party spokesman on tourism, Ed Bartlett, has described the recently concluded Americas’ Sail event as “a monumental failure and a significant financial loss” to the island.

And he has called on the Jamaica Tourist Board to give a full account to the nation’s taxpayers for what he describes as another “grave example” of the JTB’s mishandling of the island’s tourism marketing and public relations campaign.

The JTB has been under severe pressure over the last couple of months as critics contend that it is inefficient in its use of its limited budget. The state body has consistently maintained that it is not overly inefficient but merely under-funded. This week, it commissioned a study aimed at identifying any areas of inefficiency.

The JTB pumped $4.7 million into the staging of the event which took place in Montego Bay, Port Antonio and Ocho Rios. Montego Bay hoteliers and restaurants, with visions of increased business, chipped in with more than $10 million.

But the event was significantly scaled down and did not draw a big crowd.

According to Bartlett, the concept was “wholesome” and if properly done the event could have been a significant boost to the island’s struggling tourism industry. But, he maintained, the event was “seriously flawed in many respects”.

In the days following the event, organisers have admitted that it fell well short of all the hype that had surrounded the activity that was on the drawing board for two years.

They pointed to the after-effects of September 11, labour problems in Romania, and the recent coup in Venezuela as some of the factors that had led to the fall in the number of participating ships.