BANK of Jamaica (BOJ) has recommitted its efforts at incorporating countrywide perspectives into its policymaking, with Montego Bay serving as the first stop in an expanded outreach programme.

The move, marking BOJ’s return to the city for the first time since 2017, underscores the central bank’s recognition of the critical role that economic hubs outside Kingston play in the national economy.

Speaking at BOJ’s quarterly monetary policy press conference last Wednesday, Governor Richard Byles outlined the rationale for the bank’s decision to engage more directly with stakeholders from various industries across the island.

“The Bank of Jamaica recognises that its policies and operations affect different stakeholders in different ways. We are therefore committed to maintaining an outreach programme that gives voice to a wide cross section of stakeholders,” Byles said.

He added that BOJ’s presence in the second city is part of a broader strategy to ensure that its policies are responsive to the needs of diverse sectors, including tourism, business process outsourcing (BPO), and commerce.

The decision to host the press conference in Montego Bay — Jamaica’s tourism capital — rather than at BOJ’s Kingston headquarters follows recent reports from major tourism players of weaker half-year results, with the decline in sales and bookings largely attributed to the US State Department’s issuance of a Level 3 advisory against travel to Jamaica due to safety concerns. Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 storm that battered the western side of the island in July, exacerbated the challenges.

The forecast is that year-end tourism numbers will be down, compared to 2023, but still in line with pre-pandemic levels.

“The travel advisory that came out in January was highly publicised, and it really put a damper on tourism,” said Robin Russell, president of Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA), during the press conference.

However, he expressed confidence that the sector would still outperform pre-pandemic benchmarks. “Beryl did not help, and we lost an important week because it was the July 4th holiday, but we have recovered — not to 2023 levels, which was an exceptional year, but we are back to our benchmark year of 2019,” Russell explained.

The central bank’s visit to Montego Bay also opened doors for meetings with a wide cross section of stakeholders, including representatives from the social sector, civil society, and political figures from across the north-western region.

“Montego Bay has a very large constituency, an important constituency of players in the economy, and I think it is just appropriate that we come here, not just to speak as we are doing now but to hear from them what is their experience… So it’s [presence in Montego Bay] in recognition of the need for the BOJ to listen as well as we speak,” Byles said.

The governor also highlighted that this outreach is part of a broader strategy to decentralise BOJ’s operations, reflecting the significance of parishes outside Kingston.

“We have been to Mandeville before, and we intend to take some of these events out into the rest of the country in the near future. Montego Bay is the first step in that direction… Kingston is not Jamaica,” he added.