Dear Editor,

The most recent mind-boggling achievements by our athletes surpass mere congratulations. Led by the fastest men and women in the world, Jamaica had the world at its feet. The stars of Daegu – Veronica Campbell Brown and Usain Bolt, have left us all breathless.

Some years ago the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce honoured our Trelawny athletes with a ceremony in Falmouth. For the first time in the history of the parish, keys to the parish were given to these same athletes. Since then other parishes have done similar tributes.

Our Ministry of Tourism has so far failed to capitalise on the marketing potential of our athletes, in particular our Trelawny athletes. Other countries have sent reporters to Jamaica and Sherwood Content, in particular to search for the answers as to to why Usain runs so fast. Why did we not have the cameras in Bolt’s village recording the people’s response to his achievements? It was easy to have the cameras in Half Way Tree Square.

We have opened one of the finest cruise destinations in the Caribbean – in Falmouth, Trelawny. One would think that our tourism ministry would grasp the opportunity to make Sherwood Content, the home of the fastest man in the world, a must-see for visitors.

This would give the people of the area an opportunity to benefit from the tourism product. One would think that an effort would have been made to improve the roads leading to Sherwood Content, to make it easy for buses from the cruises to visit the area. The people would be given incentives to make the surroundings attractive and provide craft and herbal remedies for sale to visitors.

Usain’s home and school would be transformed into an attraction and would be of interest to all. It is this kind of initiative that is needed to get all of our people to be a part of the tourism package. I can refer to places like Bob Marley’s resting place at Nine Miles, Milk River Bath in Clarendon and Bath in St Thomas that are difficult to reach because of terrible road conditions.

Mr Minister of Tourism, we need to look after what we have to offer. Let me beseech you to spend less time looking for airlift, simply to bring in more people to remain in the hotels and on the cruise ships. Look after our tourism product and it will look after us. It seems to me that you have very little respect for the product you promote. There is so much that can be achieved if all of our people were made to feel that they mattered.

Visitors come here to interact with our people, to understand what makes us unique in the world. Please, Minister, let the people of Jamaica benefit from the goodwill that prevails in the visitors that come to our country.

A Guy Morris

morrguy@gmail.com