TEF gives $350m for small and medium tourism enterprises
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says his ministry is committed to driving the capacity of Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) that provide goods and services within the tourism sector.
This commitment was underscored at today’s handover of J$350 million to the EXIM Bank from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to facilitate a loan facility for these local suppliers, a release from Bartlett’s ministry disclosed.
This figure represents the final tranche of the total amount provided by TEF to the EXIM Bank, the ministry said.
Speaking at the handover ceremony Bartlett said, “more than 80 per cent of tourism is driven by SMTEs but only 20 per cent of tourism resources go back to them and part of that reason is capacity, the smaller players need to grow, they need to expand. They have ideas and tremendous capabilities but they lack capital.
So to help these small suppliers build the capacity to compete and benefit more from the value change we partnered with the EXIM Bank and put J$1Billion to be on loan to them.”
The loan facility provides for funding to Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises belonging to the areas of gastronomy, small accommodations, shopping network, manufacturing, services, spa and wellness, domestic tours and car rentals.
One of the beneficiaries of the loan scheme, ESB Hotel and Restaurant Supplies highlighted that having accessed a loan through the facility, their business saw a 40 per cent increase in sales in the first year and a 75 per cent increase in the second year.
“As we are talking to the hotels about utilizing more of the local goods and services provided by our suppliers, we have to build the capacity of our Jamaicans to provide those services so that they have no excuse.
We want our SMTEs to know that the future for demand of supplies for the sector is going to hit the roof as in the next three years we will bring over 7000 new rooms on stream. Jamaica’s tourism is about to experience unprecedented grow but to go there we must take the people with us and to do so we must build their capacity to deliver on these demands,” Bartlett added.
