Five per cent increase per year inadequate

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has expressed optimism that the economy will rebound and record growth at a reasonable pace. She, however, did not provide a time frame in which it was expected to occur.

"I am very confident that our country will overcome the present challenges and realise our objective of reducing our debts, creating jobs and getting our economy to grow at an acceptable rate," she said.

Faced with a national debt of some $1.5 trillion, the drying up of the Net Internal Revenue (NIR) and a plunging dollar against its international counterparts, the country is anxiously awaiting the signing of an agreement with the International Monteray Fund (IMF) to place the economy on stable footing.

Saturday, which signalled the start of the winter tourism season, Simpson Miller, who was speaking at the official opening of Club MoBay — a VIP lounge established at Sangster International Airport — pinned her hopes on the tourism sector rescuing the ailing economy.

"Our tourism industry offers us solid reason for confidence. Every step forward that our industry makes must be recognised and celebrated," argued the prime minister.

The industry raked in US$2 billion last year.

Among other things, Club MoBay offers state-of-the-art arrival and departure lounges consisting of showers, a premium bar, complimentary drinks and snacks, unlimited free Wi-Fi via high-speed Internet access, a business centre, a kiddies area, and a spa offering express treatments. Guests of Club MoBay will also enjoy fast-tracked access through security and immigration, as well as a personal escort to their departure gate.

"We have just opened up our escort service which allows one to have VIP treatment from the moment they land in Jamaica to the moment they leave. What we really do is we meet the persons on the plane, we bring them down to the brand new, state-of-the-art arrivals lounge [to] have a nice drink et cetera. Then they have a nice vacation in Jamaica and on their way out again, they are fast-tracked out of the airport," CEO of Club MoBay David Hall told the Jamaica Observer.

Meanwhile, the prime minister, who hailed the addition of the new facility, noted that it was a result of private/public sector partnership.

"Being entertained in any attractive, comfortable setting at any airport after or before air travel is a sought-after experience. Users of our airports — visitors or locals; vacationers and business people — do deserve such a facility. The new service has been made possible through partnership between the public and private sector. What we are seeing today is the outcome of [a] successful pooling of resources," Simpson Miller said.

"The VIP lounge at the Sangster International Airport is off to a very good start. I congratulate all who worked on this project," she continued.

Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill also expressed his delight at the addition of the new offering to the industry.

"I am pleased that Jamaica is the destination chosen for this first-class facility and that it is also a first for the Caribbean," the tourism minister declared.

"Club MoBay is a welcome addition to the Sangster International Airport and comes at a time when — despite challenges from Hurricane Sandy — the industry is robust and ready for business," he added.

Opposition spokesman on tourism, Edmund Bartlett also welcomed the new facility as a "most important development in enabling the destination to transcend that point of being third world, moving into first world presentations for tourism".

"The opening of this VIP lounge is the culmination of the efforts of really putting world-class atractions with the points of entry into the country," he said.