MONTEGO BAY, St James — Tourism stakeholders, including small and medium-size operators in western Jamaica, are upbeat following the United States revised travel advisory for Jamaica, which has been upgraded to level 2 from level 3.

While the previous advisory had urged US citizens to reconsider travel to Jamaica due to concerns about crime and health care, the Level 2 designation advises travellers to exercise increased caution due to elevated safety and security risks, but represents a notable improvement in perception.

The upgrade comes two months after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Jamaica in March, committed to reviewing the Level 3 advisory.

An elated Negril hotelier Richard Wallace expressed that the revision is timely, coming shortly after sluggish business during the month of May.

“The timing of the revision was great because the month of May was one of the slowest I’ve seen in many years. Tourism is a bit down, not because of the travel advisory, but other factors affecting travel and tourism now across the world. So we really welcome this and hope it’s a turning point in increasing the numbers coming to Jamaica. So it’s a really good thing,” Wallace told the Jamaica Observer.

He was quick to add that while Jamaica experiences little or no violence against tourists, it is encouraging that the advisory was improved due to the reduction in major crimes. The hotelier also noted that the update augurs well for group and corporate travel.

“Crimes against tourists is not an issue, but it’s just a perception of crime in Jamaica that creates that. Now that the travel advisory is down, even though a lot of people don’t follow the travel advisory when they’re visiting, but there are large groups and corporate business that won’t travel if there’s an advisory against that country, so we should be getting more from that sector…more large groups and conventions — that kind of business-related travel. So we look forward to that as well.

“We’re happy about the reason for them lowering it as well, the fact that crime also is down. We all know that crimes against tourists is not an issue in Jamaica, because we are at the average worldwide,” he added.

Businessman Joseph Hamilton, who operates Breathtaking View Villa in Falmouth, Trelawny, with his wife Ula, also welcomed the revised advisory. He noted that while it is a positive move, the impact on visitor arrivals would not be immediate.

“I think we’ll probably see some improvements, because it makes people feel more confident coming here. People do pay attention to those travel advisories, and when they see that Jamaica has made improvement, that changes, in some way, the impact on the number of visitors that come here — it would increase,” Hamilton told the
Observer, adding that it will not be realised immediately.

“An advisory this week doesn’t mean that you’re gonna see an increase this week or next week. People have to plan to take vacation — because people don’t just have money put down they can just take up and go on vacation. People plan vacation, probably a year in advance, so it’s probably six months to a year before you can really tell whether or not it has generated more visitors coming in,” he added.

While praising the Government for its crime reduction efforts, Hamilton also called for improvements in the country’s health system.

“We also want to see some improvement in the health care, because that is a concern of visitors when they come here — if they were to get sick and need emergency medical attention,” he said.

Meanwhile, ground transport operator Adrian McKenzie welcomed the improved advisory, citing its potential to help repair the destination’s tarnished security image.

“We feel good; it never affect me, but in a wide base, it affected other members because even when the tourists come, they don’t want to leave the hotel — they prefer go with a reputable tour company. And when they go with a tour company, they complain because they say they don’t like the crowd and they can’t get to do what they want to do…the Level 2 [travel advisory] will help us,” said McKenzie, a member of the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association.

A veteran craft vendor in western Jamaica, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also welcomed the new designation. However, he was pessimistic that it would translate into increased sales for small traders.

“It is good for the country, but the business is not filtering down to the small man. The big man dem take over most of the business now,” he said.

WALLACE…the timing of the revision was great because the month of May was one of the slowest I’ve seen in many years