Q & A with Camille Needham, Executive Director of the Jamaica Hotels & Tourism Association (JHTA)

The Jamaica Hotels & Tourism Association (JHTA) has a longstanding reputation as an organization that welcomes local properties and international hotel chains to its membership with open arms as long as they abide by the guidelines established by the Jamaica Tourist Board. Right now, Spanish hotel companies and groups with major investments on the island nation are also pleased to be members of JHTA. About this and other topics, Caribbean News Digital spoke exclusively with JHTA executive director Camille Needham during the 2008 JAPEX in Kingston.

Q.- Are all hotels in Jamaica members of the Jamaica Hotels & Tourism Association?
A.- Most hotels in Jamaica are members of the Jamaica Hotels & Tourism Association. Not every single hotel is a member because we only accept hotels that are licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and have all the documentation in place. We don’t accept any properties that do not have the proper government authorization, so all of our members are JTB-licensed. But the vast majority of Jamaican hotels are members of the JHTA and we’re pleased to say that the new Spanish hotels that have set up shop in Jamaica recently are also members of the JHTA, I mean, RIU, Iberostar, Fiesta, Gran Bahia Principe.

Q.- When did the RIU chain join your organization?
A.- RIU joined us shortly after they started, about five years ago. Their newest hotel is in Ocho Rios, and it’s a member as well. I’m sure that when the new properties are completed, they will also join us as well.

Q.- Are small hotels also JHTA members?
A.- Yes, small hotels are also members of the JHTA, although membership covers a wide cross section of hotels, from very small ones to very large. There are all-inclusive resorts, there are EP hotels, budget-type properties, hotels designed for the MICE market. That includes all hotels in Jamaica that are properly authorized and licensed.

Q.- What does the JHTA make of the Spanish hotel chains’ policy of delivering more services for less money?
A.- Within Jamaica we have all types of properties. There are EP properties, luxury hotels, budget-type properties, and of course, a vast range in between. What we feel is that any hotel can market its property for as much money as it can make and in order to maximize occupancy. And as far as we are concerned, each individual hotel makes up its own mind about its pricing structure. That’s a prerogative of the particular hotels and whatever they can do to bring this off is what they must do, so we don’t have a problem with the pricing. Your must market and you must price your product to suit your market and the product that you have.

Q.- A few years from now, Spanish hotel chains will own 3,000 more rooms in Jamaica, and that will add up to nearly 40 percent of all five-star guestrooms on the island nation. How does this increase affect the position of other hoteliers in Jamaica?
A.- In some respects it’s creating more competition within Jamaica. Now with a greater influx of new investors, more new rooms and bigger properties, that’s surely creating competition. However, hotels are going to face competition anyway, either internally or externally, and each one of them has to make sure that they can compete and keep their products at a certain level, that their prices are competitive and that they market effectively to provide what the consumers want. That’s a fact of life, it’s globalization.

As far as the external competition is concerned, the Spanish hotel chains are good for Jamaica. Their new hotels are very attractive and it’s new investment in our country, so the economy is benefiting from that. And as far as the market is concerned, they make the destination even more appealing because there’s a wider variety of rooms, of rooms with very good standards, and it’s building momentum for the destination in the marketplace. That’s very good for us.

Q.- Based on the fact that more and more Spanish hotel chains are opening properties in Jamaica, how are you training hotel staffs to work in those lodgings?
A.- I believe we will have to increase our training and in educating our people in foreign languages, Spanish in particular, and I know that’s something the government is looking at. In Jamaican high schools, foreign languages are taught –Spanish, French and in some cases German and so forth. However, we need to increase it because tourism is a very intensive industry and you need workers who are bilingual at all levels, and we’re not producing enough people from the school system who can speak a foreign language fluently. That’s an area we need to look at. We need to put more effort and more money into training adults and educating school children.

Q.- What can you say about tourists’ safety in Jamaica? Are they safe when they roam out in the streets?
A.- The crime rate against tourists in Jamaica is very, very low. So, when a visitor comes to Jamaica, the chances of getting attacked in any way are very, very little. We know there’s sometimes an image problem, like in all countries. We do have our problems, but as far as visitors are concerned, the incidence of crimes against them is pretty small.

Q.- What’s the JHTA’s policy in terms of environmental protection?
A.- We think the environment is very important. We must protect and preserve the environment. We all know about climate change, about global warming and all the problems that have been created by things like pollution and deforestation. It is very important for every country in the world to do everything possible to protect the environment. At the JHTA, regard that task as extremely important issue and the sustainability of the industry is interdependent on how well or how much we protect the environment. There is no doubt that we’re firmly behind all efforts to protect the environment and to develop in a sustainable way.

Q.- Is the JHTA a member of the Caribbean Hotel Association and what are the benefits that you get out of that membership?
A.- The CHA does a lot of lobbying and representation of the hotel industry in the Caribbean, among Caribbean governments. This is the body that negotiates with the European Union and for the hotel industry at the CARICOM level. That’s the regional body that lobbies on behalf of Caribbean tourism. For example, when the WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) for passport requirements came out, the CHA lobbied on behalf of the whole region and it managed to get a delay for that requirement to be implemented. They also do some advertisement and marketing programs on behalf of the region. They also have educational programs for the members.