Tourism entrepreneurs or small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) as they called are to benefit from a number of strategic programmes and initiatives crafted to build their resilience and expand capacity.

The industry in its support, which first started with the big up small businesses initiative, has been seeking to boost local businesses by creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with the tourism sector, linking them also to increased revenue generation.

Speaking at a Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) business development information session last week, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that SMTEs which forms a critical part of the travel and tourism, hospitality, recreation and entertainment and food services industries are all based at the heart of the tourism product.

Bartlett said that with approximately 80 per cent of the value of tourism experiences worldwide being driven by these enterprises, it was unfortunate that less than 20 per cent of the sector’s returns were trickled down to them, highlighting the urgent need for remedial action especially in the pandemic’s aftermath.

“As we rebound and reimagine, we want to bring a new dynamism to the process, and we are trying to rebalance that anomaly. We want SMTEs to get a larger share of the tourism dollar,” the minister said.

In providing this support, Bartlett said that the ministry with the assistance of other public bodies will be moving to offer support to SMTEs and hospitality workers providing a range of international certification, financial support and marketing initiatives. The education component is to be led by the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation; while Jamaica National, EXIM Bank and the Jamaica Tourist Board will provide partnership for the other components.

Some of the products available to SMTE operators at these institutions which could significantly help to bolster their operations include: business loans, vouchers for technical assistance, effective marketing and product testing and standardisation services.

The ministry in increasing efforts to boost the competitiveness of the local tourism product and to offer support to emerging SMTEs, said it is also working to develop an innovation-based tourism incubator (ITI). This initiative, being led by the TEF is to support entrepreneurs in converting innovative ideas into viable businesses.

“We are investing in ideas through the innovation incubator that we are establishing. We have $31 million in this year’s budget to do just that — to go and mine ideas and find young people all across Jamaica with ideas, because tourism is driven by ideas,” Bartlett stated.