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Jamaica: Tool for Transformation
Jamaica’s minister of tourism salutes the successes of other Caribbean
destinations such as St. Maarten and Aruba. The Honorable Edmund
Bartlett observes, “St. Maarten is a good example of how timesharing
has transformed areas and created sustainability.” And he points to
the recent launch of consumer protection timeshare legislation in
Jamaica in May 2016 as the impetus for vacation ownership to play a
growing role in the island’s tourism sector and beyond.
“We see timesharing as a powerful transformational tool for
Jamaica,” says the minister of tourism. “We want to use that tool
to provide economic flow to sectors beyond tourism. It’s not just
a transformation of timesharing and tourism, but of construction,
marketing, transportation. The owners who come develop loyalties to
the destination. They become part of the community. They become
close to the grocer. Tourism dollars stay in the country.”
The prospects continue to be positive for timesharing as a change
agent, says Frank Comito, CEO and general director of the Caribbean
Hotel & Tourism Association. “Vacation ownership has a pervasive
impact not only on employment, but also [on] the broader revenue
impact, as the sector drives a higher percentage of guest incremental
spend, further benefiting the economy and generating tax revenues for
the destination.”
APRIL – JUNE 2017 RESORTDEVELOPER.COM VACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW
Representatives from diverse Caribbean countries and institutions are
quick to praise the positive impact of timesharing on the economies
of the region, even in the worst of times. Case in point: As the Honorable
William Marlin, prime minister of St. Maarten, told a group of journal-
ists at the International Shared Ownership Investment Conference in
October 2016, in 1995 when a storm decimated the island, “St. Maarten
was 90 percent demolished by Hurricane Luis—the island was shut
down in terms of tourism. But lo and behold, the date the airport
opened, the first visitors to return were the timeshare owners.”
St. Maarten: Timesharing Adds Up
That was more than 20 years ago, but Marlin asserts that timesharing
continues to uplift tourism and deliver economic benefits to the island.
St. Maarten’s 14 timeshare properties comprise 3,600 timeshare rooms or
units on the island, compared with 1,500 hotel rooms. And when it comes
to occupancy, the rate for timeshare resorts is 84 percent, compared
with 75-percent occupancy for hotels. Hotel guests stay an average
6.6 nights; and timeshare guests stay for up to 10 nights per visit.
While St. Maarten has a long history of timesharing (it started
36 years ago), the island is not the only success story in the Caribbean.
Aruba, St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico are among
other vacation ownership hotspots.
Aruba: More Visitor Nights
Aruba, for example, also has 14 timeshare resorts offering 3,500 rooms
or units, according to Jim Hepple, president and CEO of the Aruba
Hotel and Tourism Association. He reports that the industry evolved
in the mid-1980s when the Aruban government targeted growth of the
tourism sector, particularly focusing on the North American
market. In the 1990s, more resorts opened, often as a result
of the conversion of failed traditional hotel developments.
“In 2015,” Hepple reports, “22 percent of our visitors stayed
in a timeshare resort and accounted for 27 percent of all
visitor nights.”
At the 2016 shared ownership conference, Neil Kolton,
Interval International’s director of resort sales and service
for the Caribbean and Florida, pointed out to reporters that
there are great opportunities for timesharing throughout the
Caribbean. “Diversified tourism economies with a healthy
mix really create sustainable, long-term tourism economy,”
he explained, noting the advantages of vacation ownership.
“Timesharing is prepaid. Timeshare owners come back no
matter what’s going on in the world economy. They come
with larger parties, they book in advance, they generate a
greater spend, and are more free-spending because they
don’t have a big hotel bill to pay at the end of their stay.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Timesharing
Good for the Caribbean Economy
Hugh Riley,secretary general and CEO,CaribbeanTourism Organization;WilliamMarlin, prime minister of St. Maarten;
Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s minister of tourism.
nilaya/Deposit Photos