NEGRIL, Westmoreland — As the tourism sector recovers from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa almost a month ago, key stakeholders in Negril have suggested that they should be provided with recovery assistance from the government, especially for small hotels.

However, one government agency said efforts are being made to assist small players in the sector.

“Negril has more small players than anywhere else. I think we need to have access to easy low interest rates. And, when I say law interest rate, if it is in US [dollars] it should not be more than two and a half per cent. And, if it is in Jamaican, it should not be more than five per cent,” said Daniel Grizzle, operator of Charela Inn Hotel in Negril.

“And, also some of the smaller properties on the West End should be given a grant to get them up again [and] looking even better than they were before. We should use it as a chance to improve the product and if you really want the product to move, you have to help the smaller properties step up,” added Grizzle in an interview with Observer Online.

Operator of Charela Inn Hotel in Negril Daniel Grizzle.

Grizzle, a former president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce who also has a property on the West End noted that while some small players are ready to start doing business, others are unable to stand on their own.

“Some of us need help and the [Jamaica]Tourist Board and TPDCo (Tourism Product Development Company) should be here discussing ways to help us get back to where we were and beyond,” argued Grizzle.

Grizzle’s call was supported by hotelier Richard Wallace, who is the managing director of the Boardwalk Village in Negril. Wallace explained that the sector was looking for a similar gesture as provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think that in a disaster just like with COVID, it is somewhat expected that the government would assist any sector that is devastated by it. And so, it is not unexpected that the industry players in tourism would be looking to the government for some sort of help to recover from it as soon as possible,” stated Wallace, who is also the chairman of the Negril Destination Assurance Council.

Despite the argument put forward by Wallace, he made it clear that the government’s hands may be tied with the country’s wider recovery efforts.

“I know that a lot of government buildings buildings and properties were destroyed — hospitals, police stations and clinics and they are going to have their hands full but If we want to get the industries back up and running as soon as possible which I believe is the priority of the government, then they should offer some assistance to industry players to get us back on our feet, sooner than later,” stated Wallace.

However, Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Dr Carey Wallace told Observer Online that several programmes are being looked at.

“We also are working closely with the local and international financial institutions to see what facilities can be put in place to benefit the small properties with all of the tourism stakeholders so that they can have access to capital to get their operations back up,” said Wallace.

In the meantime, Wallace said one of the things that is being done is to facilitate the tourism workers, “because recall now, it’s a different type of disaster. It was not like a COVID pandemic where even though tourism had paused, the workers were okay. I mean, at home, but at least they had a house and they had a car. Whereas in this case, they have damage that they have to recover from themselves. So, one of the things we’re investing in is rebuilding kits for tourism workers to facilitate and provide solutions for tourism workers for them to be able to come back out to work. [So] not just the hotels or the attraction industry, the people as well”.

“So, TEF has some packages that our minister will announce soon about the facilitation of the rebuilding of tourism workers. Otherwise, we’ve extended to our current loan facilities — EXIM Bank (National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica) and Jamaica National monetary for those beneficiaries in tourism to provide some relief. That pool still exists for small and medium tourism enterprises to provide access to it,” added the TEF executive director.

Meanwhile, Richard said bookings of rooms and attractions have resumed. He is now hoping that smaller players and Airbnb in the sector will be able to capitalise on larger hotels closing their properties for renovation and is expected to open their doors next year.