Marketing analysis on: Tourism law in Jamaica
Regulatory, Legal and Business Environment
Tourism law in Jamaica comes under ministry of tourism which takes care of three portfolios: tourism, Culture and entertainment. The national industrial policy and master plan for sustainable development are the frameworks which provide the guideline. A breakthrough in the regulatory framework came in 2010 when there was amendment done in “The Tourist duty free shopping system Act” which encouraged duty free shopping for travelers (The Gleaner 2010). The Country has good competitive index rating with respect to time and cost required to start a business, Openness to bilateral air agreements making it conducive for starting a business (world economic forum travel and tourism index 2011).
Competition
The factors that give one Caribbean nation a competitive edge over other is the sizes of the islands, economical and geographical status and tourism development condition. Based on the above mentioned factors these countries are classified under different subgroups (Sustainability Economic Assessment of EU and ACP economic Partnership Agreement n.d.).
Large Island and mature tourism: Jamaica and Barbados. Jamaica being largest Island in size also it is the largest English speaking island and it has close proximity to United States makes it one of the most favored tourist location.
- Large Island and emerging tourism: Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago. The Islands are large and tourism is increasing very rapidly in these nations. These island
are mature destinations for tourism. Their tourism contribution to GDP is also very high.
- Small Island and mature destination: Bahamas, St Kitts, Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda. The islands in these nations are small but numerous. Bahamas itself has more than 3000 islands.
- Small Island and emerging destinations:, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincet, Grenada where tourism is emerging but agriculture is degrading.
- Mainland Countries: Guyana, Suriname and Belize tourism attraction mainly consists of
Adventures.
- Least developing country: Haiti, where tourism growth is marginal.
Regional Agreements and Global Political Issues
Jamaica has signed several multilateral and bilateral agreements with different nations especially United States and Canada to develop its trade agreements and its tourism industry. It has also signed agreements with regional countries for sustainable development. US and Jamaica relations began in 1962 itself after Jamaica getting independence. US provide assistance to Jamaica and helps it in addressing social challenges such as increasing criminal activity, lower literacy etc. Jamaica looks to US for investments and trade liberalization and US in turn reaps benefit of Caribbean Basin Trade Partner Act. More than 80 U S firms operate in Jamaica .Jamaica has always received the benefit of US Foreign assistance (US department of state 2012) Political and economic issues outside Jamaica have also impacted its tourism industry. US recession of 2007-2008 resulted in downturn of tourist earnings. Unrest in 2010 due to gang violence in Kingston raised a question over safety of the place and resulted in issuance of alarm by US government for his citizens travelling to Kingston and its surrounding areas (CNN Travel 2010) The Presidential elections in November 2012 in US are also expected to result in downturn of American tourists because US citizens prefer to stay in the country during elections.
SWOT Analysis
(Based on World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitive Index)
Media Analysis of Jamaica’s Organic Image
The Telegraph newspaper highlighted the image of Port Royal as heritage destination. The newspaper quoted expert saying that it is among the top British archaeological site and it should be protected for future generations. There is outstanding potential in this submerged town said an archeologist which in turn can attract tourist (The Telegraph 2012). Prince Harry’s visit to Jamaica early this year with relation to Commonwealth games and his of evening local dance and music in Montego Bay was also presented in the newspaper (The Telegraph 2012).
The Daily, newspaper from New York paid tribute to Jamaica on its 50th independence anniversary. The article highlighted the impact of Jamaica’s music, sport and food on international markets. The article also examined why English speaking nation Jamaica was among the first nations in the Caribbean region to get independence from colonialism. (Daily News 2012). In another article the newspaper published revelation of a documentary which talk about homophobic image of the country and its cost to the island (Daily News 2012).
Media is considered to be a very important tool for promoting tourism. It can project and introduce a destination by highlighting positive points and it can destroy a destination by negative publicity. As per above mentioned two articles from The Telegraph the first one projects Port Royal as a heritage destination with many unbeatable features and in another article it highlights the rich cultural diversity of Jamaica. The above two publishes will help in attracting visitors to Jamaica for its rich culture and heritage sites. Similarly in The Daily newspaper, through one of the article cultural versatility of the nation is highlighted along with its English speaking influence however, in the other article it is projected as homophobic nation which casts a negative shade on the brand image of Jamaica.
Comparison of the Market
United States is traditionally contributing maximum number of tourists to Jamaica however because of forthcoming election in November a downfall in numbers expected as Americans prefer to stay in their country at the time of the election. Post-election, more travelers are expected for the winter holidays. But the UK market is experiencing an upswing in the number of travelers. As quoted by the Tourism minister of Jamaica, increase in the number from UK has come as big relief for the people who are very much dependent on the tourism. As per the TUI (an international tour company), the booking for the Jamaica has been impressive in recent weeks. Bookings are already up Post London Olympics; Bolt Euphoria is at its peak.
Jamaican Government and media are trying its extra bit to en-cash the hour of Glory. Due to the Bolt phenomena, the Jamaican tourism has got a huge facelift not only in US & Europe, but across the globe. Also the worldwide celebration of 50 years of Jamaican independence & host of event organized throughout the year has resulted in more number of people planning their trip to Jamaica which is well promoted by different Jamaican media sources. Government is already in discussion with some of the leading airline to increase number of flight during the winter season and is also working towards cruise and hotel industry development (Jamaica Observer 2012)
Reinventing Jamaica
Along with some other Caribbean destinations Jamaican tourism is also under maturation stage of product life cycle and is in need of rejuvenation. Jamaican tourism which is growing but at a marginal growth rate of two to three percent if rejuvenated can grow at a much higher rate. The strategies can range from developing new market identification to existing market development to product improvement to policies and regulations improvement.
New market development: Traditionally it has been United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe that gives maximum visitors to Jamaica. Now is the time to diversify and look for other markets. Latin America is one such prospective market (Caribbean Journal 2012). The government has already identified this market and has taken step towards it however, more thrust needs to be added. There are some other emerging markets which can be looked for adding tourists like India, China and Russia. While hunting these markets the issue that can crop up is the connectivity issue which suggests need and development of airlift facility.
Health and medical tourism development: Based on location benefits Jamaica is ideally placed to get into health and medical tourism. The government has already identified this opportunity and is working towards it. The government could look for development of comprehensive care institutions especially for pediatric and aged. This would help in developing relations with pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Development of care institution would require use of hot sulfur springs, tropical medicines etc. which would require creation of linkage between agriculture and communities in which natural reservoir such as sulfur spring are located. Establishment of this sector would help Jamaica in attracting Foreign Direct Investment and would also place Jamaica as international business center. Public private partnership is one of the options that can be looked to develop this sector which would benefit both public and private partners. It is observed that average medical tourist spends around $5,000 per week which is almost double than what a normal tourist in Jamaica spend which reflects the tremendous earning potential of this sector (Medical Tourism Magazine 2012). The lower cost of per capita of Jamaican healthcare which is much less than that of US can help in attracting medical tourist from the US. The scenic beauty can add to the benefit to a tourist who is not critically sick. He can enjoy a vacation or a holiday at the same time. Development of this sector would also help in retaining the nurses and doctors who migrate to US.
Generating more income by increasing visitor’s spending: Maximizing the earnings from those who visit Jamaica could be a good strategy to increase the earning from tourists. The earnings can be increased by offering more sites of attraction to visitors wherein visitors can spend on culture and nature of Jamaica. Earnings can also be increased by hosting more events and shows in which tourists can participate (Jamaican Observer 2012).
Promotion of Natural and cultural heritage: Jamaica is blessed with rich natural and cultural heritages all it needs is the promotion. Jamaica has numerous unexplored and underdeveloped natural sites. The traditional dance, folks, music and cuisine are not promoted in a big way. Apart from mass marketing techniques that are being used to highlight the heritage site there could be alternative branding techniques which would be selective in offering and targeting. To cater to the demand of particular segment strategic advertising technique can be used. The set of offering for one segment of customer would differ from other set of offering. Let us take an example of class of customer who is interested in adventure sports like Scuba diving rather than visiting parks; it would be prudent to promote him adventure sports offering.
Entertainment sector development: There seems to be a natural synergy between entertainment, accommodation and attraction industry that’s what is felt by tourism minister of Jamaica and he is working towards bundling of these (Caribbean Journal 2012). The development of entertainment industry especially the film industry can help in attracting more number of tourists to the destination. Entertainment stars are amongst the most famous brand ambassadors for all the tourism advertisements. To let the synergist growth of entertainment and tourism happen policies and regulations governing them needs to be put in place. There should be proper grounds for development of entertainers so that they come up as international personalities.
Targeting high end markets by high quality offerings for immediate gains: With respect to limitation on carrying capacity and airlift facility of Jamaica a focused approach towards high end , high value added segment like US can help in generating immediate returns from tourism. This means providing high quality product to the segment which would further help in differentiating the offering from a mass product. Studies have shown that most of the time visitors look for high quality, expensive product which gives them more satisfaction. They don’t care for money instead they care for the value of that money.
Developing related sectors like hotel, manufacturing and transport: Government can work towards development of incentives and policies that would look for development in a holistic manner. It can offer incentives for establishments of a new hotel which would make it an interesting sector for investment.
Liberalization of policies to attract investors: The government can work towards making its policies less stringent to encourage investments. It can offer concession or make imports of important material duty free imports for a particular period of time. It can also offer exemptions from various kinds of taxes like corporate tax. The government can offer allowances in the form of capital allowance, depreciation allowance etc.
Creating demand for Export – Products: Jamaica is more famous as a destination where tourist can enjoy their vacations, rather than as a place known for its products. Clubbing the tourism export and product export with touch of culture and lifestyle can help in bringing up the demand of export product. Another way could be introducing the product to the visitors during their stay in the country which can further help in generating the demand of the product once they leave the country.
Environment sustainability: The management of garbage, toxic material and waste is below standards in Jamaica (Caribbean Environmental Network n.d.). This poor waste management is causing continuous degradation in the environmental standards and its species which is marking a question on the development of the tourism industry. This degradation has led to poor ranking of environmental standards by World Economic Forum. To bring the glory, the government needs to put some stringent law in place and it should also see for its effective implementation. It can also look for community involvement and set up local and regional bodies that could take care of it. Another option that could be considered is giving voluntary imposed attention to environment like providing incentives to developers and architects who consider environment in their plans.
Developing sustainable market position by enhancing tourist’s overall experience: This would require investment in developing heritage sites which is the main center of attraction for most of the visitors. This can be done in collaboration of resources from tourism and heritage agencies.
Need for development of culture and public diplomacy strategy: A comprehensive audit of art and culture offering by Jamaica which can be offered overseas and locally can help in building the sector. The analysis of the offering can help Jamaica in showcasing its offering in various events like trade shows, cultural campaigns, festivals and expos. Studies have shown that the number of international fairs and exhibitions hosted by a nation is one of the most important tool to drive competitiveness (Kevin Harriott 2009). To attract attention of investors and tourists Jamaica needs to host similar kind of events more often. Public diplomacy helps in creating positive and friendly relations with the foreign public which does not get affected because of some unpleasant changes that can happen locally such as crime rates and violence.
Lifting Brand image of Jamaica as being unsafe: Kingston, the capital of Jamaica is infamous as violent city with very high crime rate. Back in 2010 US government raised alarm requesting them not visit Jamaica concerning their safety because of rising crime rates. While government is working very hard to reduce the crime rates, it still remains as a concern for visitors. Higher crime rates could be a result of so many factors such as poverty, illiteracy, drugs, gangs and politics. Apart from violence, road safety is also a concern in Jamaica. The factors contributing to it are poor infrastructure with poor traffic management and poor emergency breakdown services which is limited to only urban cities. The government needs work on developing infrastructure with emergency health and accident services. It also needs to design and implement strong laws against criminal activities in order to prevent crime. Development of Culture and public diplomacy strategy which can establish Jamaica as a friendly destination can be a strategy to lift Jamaica’s Brand image (The Gleaner 2012).
Reaping benefits from events like Olympic and 50th anniversary: Life time opportunity of Jamaica to host Olympics with a strong performance by nation has helped the nation in getting all the spotlights. Fortunately this year happens to 50th year of independence for Jamaica. Numerous events that were planned have helped brand Jamaica to be in forefront. Successes from both these events clubbed together, presented and showcased in proper manner can help in adding impetus to the existing promotional strategies for attracting more tourists (Jamaican Observer 2012).
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