Tourism officials beam at ‘untapped potential’ for Falmouth as a resort town
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Tourism Jennifer Griffith says Falmouth, in Trelawny, is set to take its
rightful place as one of Jamaica’s major resort areas.
Falmouth is not currently listed as a
resort town on the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) website and is often packaged
and marketed as being part of the tourism offerings of Montego Bay. The other
resort areas listed on the website are Ocho Rios, Negril, Port Antonio,
Kingston and the south coast.
Griffith, following a tour of the artisan
village construction site at the old Hampden Wharf in Falmouth, said that it is
against this background that the Tourism Ministry will be marketing the
Trelawny capital “in its own unique way” and independent of neighbouring
Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
“Falmouth currently lacks what you would
call identity branding. The hotels and attractions that are in Falmouth are
marketed or are perceived to be in Montego Bay, while those that are closer to St.
Ann are being identified with the resort town of Ocho Rios. Now that is about
to change,” she said in an interview with JIS News on Wednesday (Feb. 5).
She further noted that Falmouth, famous for
its Georgian-style architecture and historic buildings, has been holding its
own, so much so that it is once again being hailed as a centre of major
economic activity.
Griffith cited world-class attractions such
as Chukka Good Hope and Martha Brae rafting, in addition to hotels that are
coming on stream, as indicative of a town which “has been transformed into a
first-choice destination”.
“Falmouth has truly turned the corner where
it now deserves its own branding and where it can finally free itself from the
shackles of its more celebrated neighbours – Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego
Bay,” the Tourism Permanent Secretary said.
“Not only does it have some great
attractions but it also boasts Excellence Oyster Bay, Ocean Coral Spring,
Royalton, and Melia Braco, some of the best hotels in the country and, of
course, the biggest and most attractive port in the Caribbean in the form of
the Falmouth Pier,” she added.
For his part, Minister of Tourism Edmund
Bartlett, argued that Falmouth has a kind of economic and historic value that
not too many places in the region have.
He added that the transformation from a
parish that was once dominated by agriculture to what is now a very vibrant
tourism sector, is nothing short of remarkable.
“What is also unique about this town is that
it nestles neatly between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, and which also makes it
ripe for housing development,” the minister pointed out.
Bartlett said it should also be remembered
that Falmouth was once the epicentre of economic activity and was arguably the
most popular shopping destination on the island’s northern coast.
He added that with what can now accurately
be dubbed as “the dawn of a new era” in the town, the people of Falmouth and,
by extension, the entire parish of Trelawny “will now have a lot of reasons to
smile”.
“Residents and stakeholders can now take
pride in that their patience and resilience are now being rewarded,” the minister
said.
Bartlett argued that things will only get
better for the parish, noting that in the pipeline are some 6,000 hotel rooms
along the tourism corridor from Rio Bueno to Falmouth.