OCHO RIOS, St Ann – Hotels along the island’s north coast who had high hopes of benefiting from an influx of visitors for the ICC Cricket World Cup are now disappointed at what has been for the most part, relatively little or no bookings to show because of the tournament.

Apart from the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, where a group of Irish supporters were based, and Starfish Trelawny, located near the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium, where practice matches and the opening ceremony were held, north coast hotels for the most part hardly booked a CWC fan.

“No, no, not at all. Most of us did not get anything,” Vana Taylor, chairman of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Ocho Rios/Runaway Bay Area Chapter, told the Observer.

At Starfish, it was “good” during the period leading up to the opening ceremony, but that was about it.

“We had quite a few, especially during the opening ceremony. We did very well during the opening but we didn’t expect anything beyond that,” John Morehead, general manager at Starfish, said.

A spokesperson at Riu Club Hotel Ocho Rios said: “We didn’t get many; we had high occupancy from our regular clients.”

The story was basically the same at other resorts.

Jamaica hosted more official events than any other territory in the region.

As host of Group D, comprising the West Indies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland, Jamaica hosted six group matches at Sabina Park, between March 13 and 23, and will host one semi-final at Sabina on April 24.

In addition, the island also hosted four warm-up matches and the opening ceremony at the Trelawny stadium.

But according to Taylor, there is hardly anything to show. “We really didn’t see any real benefits apart from the lovely opening ceremony,” she said.

It was unclear how hotel bookings were going for the semi-final.

Taylor said attention is now being turned to Jamaica’s premier hospitality and tourism trade show – Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) – set for the Sunset Jamaica Grande from April 29 to May 1. Hundreds of overseas delegates are expected to attend the three-day event, geared at promoting Jamaica as a vacation destination.