AS Jamaica continues to go after new markets to further grow the tourism product the island’s south coast is being eyed among those emerging frontiers ripe for new tourism investments.

Speaking at a Jamaica Observer Business Forum, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, without divulging too much as negotiations remain underway, pointed to the island’s south coast among the areas tipped for possible Middle East investment.

“We are looking at the south coast across areas such as Pedro Bluff, Cross Keys in Manchester, and Broadleaf into Alligator Pond, as the possibilities for a type of luxury, high-end tourism in these areas are huge and that’s where people from the Middle East, I think, will have great interest,” he said while also pointing to others such as Port Royal amongst areas being considered.

Whilst among a 70-member delegation consisting of mainly private sector players and government officials from the Middle Eastern, oil-rich country of Saudi Arabia almost two years ago, Prime Minister Andrew Holness had also indicated that special attention would be given to a number of areas in key parishes as the country moves to develop a new type of tourism built around low density but high in terms of value and quality.

Bartlett, in providing the update around developments concerning possible Middle East investments since that time, said that the discussions remain ongoing, with an expectation that efforts will bear fruit in the near future.

“The projects out of Saudi Arabia are now in the process of evaluation, therefore much of the future of this relationship remains locked in negotiations and the harmonisation of policies. Considering this, I believe that we could begin to see investments coming out of this area by 2025/26,” he also said during the forum.

Welcoming over 1,200 visitors from the Middle East last year, the country, which has been on a mission to attract more interest from these destinations, moved to fast-track efforts at the just-concluded Arabian Travel Market held in Dubai.

Following discussions around possible partnerships, Minister Bartlett, during his talks with stakeholders in that market, sought to deepen local engagement as he lobbied for more travellers from the Middle East to visit Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

“The time is right for us to tap into the regional partnerships being created through Emirates, and Jamaica is ready to be inserted within the future logistics of the airline to get more from the Middle Eastern market. This would be a game changer for the destination,” he stated.

Emirates Airline, which is considered to be one of the world’s largest, now connects travellers to over 150 destinations.

The local tourism ministry has already outlined its intent to transform the unspoilt beauty of the east, as plans move apace to also build out St Thomas as another of those high-end destinations — one that will attract primarily lifestyle- and villa-type tourists who come in search of greater interaction with the local environment.

The local tourism sector, which continues to make significant inroads since its comeback from COVID-19 fallouts, last fiscal year realised gross earnings of approximately US$4.4 billion, backed by stopover arrivals of 2.9 million and cruise arrivals of 1.3 million.