MONTEGO BAY, St James — Executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI) Adam Stewart has expressed confidence in Jamaica’s ability to claim a chunk of the multi-billion-dollar wellness tourism market if, among other things, the destination can attract interested international investors and individuals with the requisite specialised medical skills, not immediately available locally.

“We know that we have the real estate, we know that we have the talent, we know that Jamaican people are a learning set of people, and we can train them. What we have to do is get capital, that Jamaica doesn’t have, to come into the country and we have to open the borders to people who have the skills that we don’t have,” Stewart argued.

He was fielding questions from the floor after delivering the keynote address at the second staging of LM Creative Agency Master Class Fireside Chat at Kia Showroom in Fairview, Montego Bay, last Wednesday night.

“There is a hospital in Cayman called Health City, it is owned by an Indian entrepreneur and it’s world class. You can go to Cayman and have open heart surgery, they do it everyday and they have built world-class facilities.

“It is, for sure, an opportunity on the Jamaican landscape and it is something that should be happening, but this is where private sector has to work with Government on policy and we have to be open to allowing those specialist skills that we don’t have: those specialist doctors coming, and to put capital around it,” he added.

Stewart was quick to note that Jamaica has a pool of talented health professionals, including nurses, some of whom have migrated in search of greener pastures.

“The question is, how do we get medical tourism here. Anybody here ever been to a hospital in the United States of America?” he asked then shared that he spent 14 months with his wife Jill during her illness, which eventually resulted in her passing in 2023.

“I lived with Jill in the hospital for 14 months and everywhere I went were Jamaican nurses: New York, MD Anderson, Houston, Texas; University of Miami, Miami. So we know that we have incredible nurses. So why did they go overseas? They go overseas for a better life,” he said.

Medical doctor Franco Pencle posed a question:

“How do you believe the Caribbean and the western hemisphere can move the shift from medical tourism being in the east, where everybody is going to Turkey. How can we move it here to the Caribbean where you know the tourism product?”

Stewart replied: “There are people who simply will not come to Jamaica because of the perception of crime.”

However, he pointed that while Jamaica is not crime free, data suggest that crime against tourists is negligible.

“Let me give you the statistics so you understand. Three million Americans came here in 2023; 56 of the three million had major infractions. Two-thirds of the 56 were Jamaicans with American passports doing nefarious things. So let’s move them out. You are now down to 18…do the math. Jamaica is one of the safest countries on the planet for visitors, but perception is reality,” Stewart explained.

The fireside chat was held under the theme ‘Social media and influencer marketing’.

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