The quaint Georgian town of Hanover’s capital, Lucea, sits on a beautiful harbour, 25 miles west of Montego Bay, and is located between that city and Negril – two of the Caribbean’s most renowned tourist resort areas.

For many years, talks to devise strategies on how to capitalise on the thousands of tourists who pass through, Hanover’s capital, Lucea, annually have failed to bear fruit.

Apart from the handful of those who visit the Hanover museum – located on the site of a prison dating back to 1776 – the town is bypassed by visitors to the island.

But in recent years, there has been renewed interest in Lucea’s development as a tourist destination.

In November 2006, for instance, Spain’s Fiesta Hotel Group began construction of a 1,600-room hotel at Point, three miles from the Hanover capital.

Then there are plans to develop a multi million dollar marina attraction just outside the town.

Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett says he will, in his upcoming budget presentation, announce plans for the designation of the town as a resort destination.

“The designation will give Lucea certain privileges and will also allow for us to look at the resort’s planning development, which other resort towns are getting and so Lucea will be able to join Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios as properly planned resort centres,” Bartlett explains.

He argues that the town has been on the other side of development for quite some time and it is time that it “comes out of that shadow and begin to take its place”.

“It is a beautiful little town that has enormous potential for tourism resort development and attraction,” he stresses.

According to Bartlett, over the next few months his ministry will be looking specifically at transforming the historic Fort Charlotte into an upscale eco-tourism area, the development of green areas, as well as implementing a new artisan village.

But is Lucea ready to attract tourists?

Lucea’s mayor, Lloyd Hill, believes that the town is not ready to do so.

“I don’t think that we are ready for the opportunity that will be coming our way, in terms of what will make tourists want to stop in Lucea,” Hill says.

According to Hill, who is serving his second stint as mayor of the town, apart from the fact that Lucea needs to be beautified, it is deficient in areas such as restaurants, craft shops and attractions.

“I have not seen one place in Lucea where a tourist could come and listen to some good reggae music, have some nice Jamaican food with the right atmosphere,” he argues.

But there is also the need for Hanoverians to be trained and certified in an effort to capitalise on the offerings that may arise from the proposed tourism developments.

A large percentage of the work force in the parish is said to be unskilled.

The citizens, Mayor Hill said, must move ‘post haste’ to get training and certification.

In the meantime, Mayor Hill is seemingly moving speedily to prepare the town as a tourist attraction.

To this end, the Hanover Parish Council has established a tourism action committee, comprising a wide cross section of tourism interests, which is mandated to ensure that Lucea in particular, takes full advantage of the tourism opportunities that exists.

Over the next few months, that committee will be challenged to get private sector interests to invest heavily in the town, which has been bypassed for decades.

Let’s hope they succeed.