Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Sandals Resorts International Executive Chairman Adam Stewart have pushed back against the latest US travel advisory on Jamaica, saying that the issues raised in the notice do not reflect an accurate picture of the island.

The counter arguments were made in an interview conducted by Arnie Weissmann, editor in chief of
Travel Weekly, the largest and most influential travel trade publication in the United States.

In his article, written from a video call with both Holness and Stewart, Weissmann noted that the travel advisory, issued on January 23, did not elevate its threat level; however, it “painted a dark picture of a country where violent crimes are ‘common’ and sexual assaults occur ‘frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts’.”

Weissmann wrote that Holness seemed genuinely perplexed by both the content and timing of the travel advisory.

“Two weeks before the advisory was released the
Financial Times had written a glowing report about the island, calling it ‘arguably one of the most remarkable and radical but underappreciated turnaround stories in economic history’,” the respected journalist noted in the article published on February 6.

Noting that not only were the economic metrics the envy of developing countries, Weissmann said Holness pointed out that serious crime was down by 11 per cent last year, murders down by eight per cent, rapes down 15 per cent. As such, the advisory runs “counter to the fact that the general trajectory of crimes, particularly serious crimes, are all heading down”, Holness said, adding that across the board crime was at a 22-year low.

“The challenge we face is that everything that is said in the travel advisory runs counter to Jamaica’s story of recovery, to Jamaica’s story of coming to grips with the challenges of being a developing country,” the
Travel Weekly article quotes Holness.

The article also said that while acknowledging that the overall murder rate is still considered high, Holness asserted that foreigners had little to fear. “For the past five years, serious crimes against the three million annual US visitors who came to vacation in Jamaica had held steady at 0.01 per cent, far lower than the serious-crime rates in many of the hometowns where visitors lived,” the article stated.

“Three million Americans travelling to Jamaica last year and 52 crimes reported,” Stewart said.

“This [advisory] came out of left field,” Holness added. “It runs counter to the story of Jamaica in the last five years. It is not supported by the trend in statistics,” Weissmann wrote.

He noted that the prime minister had not done a line-by-line comparison to the previous advisory, but the names of towns and Kingston neighbourhoods labelled “do not travel” were not unexpected.

Weissmann reported that Holness said the Government has invested heavily to ensure visitors are safe.

“We have tripled our investment in national security over the last five years
— massive investments. We have increased the number of police and now have specialised police in our tourism areas. They are very well trained within the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and we have set up a special office and special unit to treat crimes that affect tourists. And that has been working very well. I think we’re having an impact. We’re seeing that impact in the reduction of major crimes — murders, in particular — and we expect that that downward trend will continue,” the
Travel Weekly article quoted the prime minister.

“Like any country, like any State, there are places where even the citizens of that country would be best advised to avoid,” he continued. “The United States, I’m sure, has many communities that its own citizens would avoid. And, of course, if you’re a traveller, you would want to pay keen attention and stay in the areas that are for touristic purposes.”

Weissmann pointed out in the article that he himself had looked at where the don’t-go areas were located in Westmoreland, St James, and St Ann, where Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios are, respectively. He said that while there were neighbourhoods considered dangerous near tourist areas in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, the coasts were literally clear: “I did not see any beach resorts in the ‘do not travel’ zones,” the journalist stated.

He said when he asked Stewart about the warning that sexual assaults occur “frequently” at all-inclusives, Stewart “was as perplexed by that statement as the prime minister was about other aspects of the report”.

“In our company, there is zero tolerance for it,” Weissmann quoted Stewart, adding that the Sandals boss said he feels he would know if it were an issue with other companies, with “international standards across the board” and “best practices shared” among the island’s all-inclusives.

Stewart, the
Travel Weekly article said, also took issue with some of the language in the advisory regarding health, saying that health care has “substantially improved over the last five years” and, despite the State Department’s warning advising visitors that “most hospitals and doctors overseas do not accept US health insurance”, many of the hospitals and private health-care providers do work with international insurances.

Weissmann also said Stewart lavishly praised a new medical facility in Montego Bay.

Holness weighed in on the health-care issue, saying, “For the first time in almost 40 years we are building new hospitals, expanding hospitals and investing in hospitals. In another year and a half, Jamaica’s health capacity, in terms of beds, in terms of ability to treat children and adolescents, in terms of accident and emergency and critical care — all of those capacities will be increased.”

The prime minister, Weissmann said, acknowledged that Jamaica shares “developing country issues” with others in the region, but “bear in mind that Jamaica’s health care is very much linked to US health care. We are a net supplier of nurses and health practitioners to the US, and many of our doctors are trained in the US and came back here to practice. Our proximity to the US means we have very strong partnerships and links with US institutions. And we have a very robust evacuation system, should a visitor require that”.

Weissmann said when he asked Stewart whether the State Department advisory had had a material impact on his business, the hotelier said that, typically, cancellations or rebookings to a different location were in the 20 per cent to 30 per cent range but spiked to 45 per cent after the warning came out. But, he added, that’s already subsiding.

A lot of Sandals bookings were saved by travel advisors, he said.

“They’re our greatest advocates. They know Jamaica, they specialise in Jamaica. It’s the dot-com customers who just kind of get spooked and say, ‘Well, let me just go somewhere else,’ ” Stewart said.

He also said he remains confident in the country’s direction and potential.

“There are just so many positive things happening. It has inspired my generation,” he said. “I’m talking broader than just tourism. There are things happening everywhere. Jamaica has never been more amazing.”

Weissmann gave the last word to the prime minister, asking him if he had anything else he wanted to add. Holness replied:

“If I were holding your hand as you’re writing I’d say that Jamaica cares for its visitors. We have shared values. We have shared experiences. The connection between Jamaica and the US is not just a diplomatic relationship, it is a familial relationship. That needs to be established. We do have a strong tourism link, and our economy relies on it.

“Certainly, we’re concerned about such a report to American travellers, but we are also confident in the ties that bind our two countries together. And we will continue to appeal to our American visitors, our American friends, our American family to investigate on your own, to check it out on your own.

“The other message that should come out is that we’re building Jamaica 2.0. You’re literally seeing a country transform before your eyes. We’re trying to make sure that we get it right so that we can transition to developed country status. Tourism will play a key role in this. We see tourism as a valuable part of our economy, and we will do everything possible to make sure the visitor experience is safe and secure.”

Holness also noted that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had recently visited Jamaica to see the première of
One Love, the new Bob Marley biopic.

“The essence of Jamaica is ‘one love’,” he said. “So let’s get together and feel alright.”