FOR two days this summer, the iconic Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James will be transformed into an automotive Mecca with the staging of Wealth Auto Show.

The event is scheduled for July 19 and 20.

Garth Walker, chairman of Creative Media and Events, said the decision to stage the event in the tourist capital was a calculated one.

“The auto market is an important one to the sector and the Wealth team would like to play our role in bridging the gap between dealers and customers in whatever way we can. People in the west have always complained that most activities take place in Kingston, and Kingston is not Jamaica. We have heard their complaints and we are now delivering upon that request,” he told Auto.

Walker had initially planned the show for Hope Gardens in St Andrew late last year, but opted to scrap it last minute to facilitate Jamaica’s western end.

He said the convention centre was selected as the venue for the new-car show as it has never done before. He said the building’s doors had to be widened to facilitate the vehicles’s entry.

“The location will add some flair, as many persons have never been to the convention centre before and the wide array of offerings from the dealers will make it much more attractive to the patrons. We will be having a fully decked out kids zone for the kids, so while the parents/adults are viewing and negotiating, the kids will be able to keep themselves occupied as well,” he said.

The organizer was unwilling to say how much it would cost to stage the two-day event, but said he was targeting at least 5,000 patrons over the period.

The chairman said while it is still early days, several of the island’s new-car dealers were already on board. They include: Executive Motors, authorized dealers of Mazda; Hyundai dealers Key Motors; KIA dealers KIA Motors; Vehicles and Supplies, authorized dealers of Isuzu vehicles; and ATL Motors authorized dealers of Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover, Volkwagen and Honda.

Walker and his managing director business partner, Leighton Davis, started Creative Media and Events in 2008. The following year, they launched Wealth Magazine.

Both men organised a two-day auto show at the National Arena in St Andrew in 2011 after a four-year dearth of such events in Jamaica.

At that time, both men argued that despite the economic challenges the automotive industry was facing due to the downturn in the global economy, there was a need for dealers to showcase their latest offerings or face the possibility of a sector shutdown.