MONTEGO BAY, St James — President of Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Robin Russell is lobbying for big-ticket events to be staged in Jamaica as a way to attract international visitors during the slower tourism months of the year.

“We recognise the importance of events [but] it is more important to have these events when things are slower. So, I would like to see a jazz festival come back to the Jamaican sphere but maybe in October, November or September, when things are a little slower,” Russell reasoned on Wednesday.

He was speaking with the Jamaica Observer during the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association’s (CHTA) Travel Marketplace staged at Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“Events are a great opportunity for countries, cities on a whole, to get people in. People travel for events all over the world and people are looking for experiences now — and events are the ultimate experience,” the hotelier added.

He pointed to local events that have been popular with visitors for decades.

“We have had Sunsplash, Sumfest, shows like Rebel Salute. We have had carnival for a number of years; we have parties like Dream Weekend, Mocafest. We have things like the film festivals and the book festivals [such as] Calabash in Treasure Beach,” Russell noted.

Russell’s views on the role of events in attracting visitors are in line with comments made, Monday, by CHTA President Nicola Madden-Grieg who appealed to tourism stakeholders to stage more events to foster stronger growth within the region.

“We have to recognise that the international traveller is looking for these kinds of experiences; they want to live like the locals. They want to really, really experience our music, our culture, our food and be among the people so it’s important that we recognise this trend — especially among the millennials and Gen Z — and make sure that we answer the call by creating more unique experiences that showcase the warmth, the beauty, that excitement that is the Caribbean, because only we can do it that way,” she appealed.

“I think we have an innate ability to do something that other destinations struggle to do, and it comes naturally to us. So, ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a big focus that we need to focus on going forward — and that is increasing the number of events into the region,” added Madden-Grieg.

The CHTA president said input from members shows they grasp the important of the issue.

“We have seen a big comeback of events in the Caribbean; you have all been dying for it so these mass increases of people throughout the region have also impacted the bottom line of our members. Forty-three per cent indicated that hosting regional or international events is important to their business; 40 per cent cites it as very important; 38 [per cent] point to music festivals as very important to the business; and 33 per cent indicate Carnival and annual cultural events are also important business generators,” she explained.

“The great thing about these activities is that it really, really helps us to drive linkages and permeate into the society. The pan chicken man, the coconut vendor, the person who does the costumes, the ladies that do the stocking for carnival — the small, micro and medium-size tourism entities really do get an opportunity, when we bring these large events into our destination, to get a piece of the tourism pie directly,” Madden-Grieg added.