It can be viewed as the second coming of the Spanish to Jamaica, as a host of hotel chains from Spain are leading the charge to make Jamaica the destination of choice for their tourism investment dollars. Since 2001 and by 2010, Spanish hotels would have invested approximately US$800 million in resort developments along Jamaica’s north coast, setting the pace for international chains from all over the world to follow in their footsteps.In addition to land available for development, Jamaica has a modern road network, state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, proximity to major trade and tourism destinations as well as air and sea access from North America, UK, Europe, the Far East and the Caribbean, as well as a skilled and semi-skilled labour force.
The Spanish inhabited Jamaica over 500 years ago when Christopher Columbus, sailing his Spanish fleet with the blessing of Queen Isabella of Spain, made his second voyage to the New World. Many remnants of the Spanish sojourn in Jamaica are evident in the island’s architecture and names of towns, streets, ports and other places, and today again, Spanish investors are showing renewed interest in the country.
The RIU Group was the first Spanish chain to make its advent into Jamaica with the establishment of a hotel on the charming West End in Negril, Westmoreland in 2001. The RIU chain now has some three hotels in major resort towns across Jamaica - the most recent being the 800-room RIU in Mammee Bay, St. Ann. The fourth property is to be established in Montego Bay.
“We chose Jamaica because of its beauty, its beaches, its rivers, the music, the dance and the friendly Jamaican personality with its disarming smile,” says Tristan Alverado, Advisor to the President of RIU which already has hotels in Mexico, the Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic.
RIU has heralded the arrival of other Spanish imports such as Iberostar, Fiesta and Bahai Principe, together adding over 8000 rooms to Jamaica’s tourism room stock. But the Spanish are not the only ones securing their piece of the Jamaican tourism development pie. The American-based Resort Properties Group selected 15 acres of pristine Rosehall beachfront land as the location for the exclusive The Palmyra Resort & Spa.
“I fell in love with Jamaica from the early '80s, but I am a businessman not a sentimentalist. The economic climate is better than 20 years ago. There is continued infrastructural improvement. And there is a Ritz-Carlton here, which signals that Jamaica is ready for five-star tourism,” says Trotta.
Explaining the concept behind the development, Trotta says “It is a quaint village made up of beachfront condominiums, villas and penthouses that capture the magical essence of Jamaica,” says Trotta, adding that the property is island-style luxury living, with access to two world-class golf courses, its own signature spa, restaurants, food markets and all the desired amenities and services.The condominiums, villas and penthouses are being sold to buyers who either choose to live in resort-luxury year-round or to have their own beach-front home-away-from-home. While persons are away from their Palmyra home, they may choose to put it in the rented pool to make money on their investment.”
He also praises the people: “The genuine warmth of the Jamaican employees makes our resorts very attractive. It also makes training staff much easier. Jamaicans smile all the time and one of the most important things to do in this industry is to smile.” Trotta goes even further; “There is not an island of nicer people than Jamaicans.”
“Our plan was to, within five years, increase our resort/hotels’ room stock by at least 10,000. So still keeping our loyal North American market in mind, evidenced by the Palmyra now in construction, we deliberately set out to diversify our tourism base and so went to Spain in 2001,” explains Lisa Bell, Executive Director of the Trade anfd Business Development Division at Jamaica Trade & Invest.
