Jamaica’s tourism ministry has revealed plans to position the country as an attractive investment destination for luxurious developments, as with the US$450-million Montego Bay Pinnacle project currently under construction on the city’s western coastline.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett made the disclosure at an exclusive conference hosted by the developers of The Pinnacle Montego Bay, themed “Branded Residences: Unlocking Jamaica’s Real Estate Potential”. The conference was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on December 4..

“We are now looking at how to enable more of this type of investment that LCH Developments has brought to Jamaica,” he stated.

Bartlett added: “This for us, is a pivotal point, and whilst we are going to be continuing to build out the elements of tourism that drive the demand for more production in various areas of the economy, we’re going to be placing concerted focus on luxury tourism as a critical part of the differentiation of the Jamaican experience.”

The minister explained that the thrust toward luxury tourism development is in keeping with the Blue Ocean Strategy for growth that the Ministry of Tourism and its public bodies developed in 2021. That strategy speaks to reimagining Jamaica’s tourism by identifying and establishing “innovative policies, systems, protocols, and standards that assure our visitors a safer, secure, and seamless experience, while building out a new national tourism model, based on a diversified portfolio of unique and authentic attractions and activities, which draw heavily on Jamaica’s natural and cultural assets.”

According to Bartlett, the Blue Ocean strategy should “lay the foundation for the emergence of a new, more inclusive form of tourism.”

He told conference participants that “operating under the Blue Ocean Strategy demands of us that we pivot in this direction”.

 “We’re excited about the prospect of you being able to bring new demographics into Jamaica, but more importantly, to have Jamaicans investing in this whole area so that the ownership of tourism becomes more and more that of the people of Jamaica,” he added, calling LCH Developments a “pioneer”.

Addressing the issue of “building out a luxury experience in Jamaica”, Bartlett said over the last 20 years, the Government has mulled the concept.

“…And we really haven’t done enough to create that luxury experience with the kind of structure and the investment that is required for it. Also, the type of regulatory and legislative arrangements that surround it, so in the new approach that we’re looking at, we’re going to pivot,” he further outlined.

Attracting a high-end demographic in the tourism space, Bartlett explained, would create more demand for goods and services from various subsectors, boosting consumption in both quantity and quality resulting in higher returns, which also offers more employment opportunities.

“We are going to have to zone our areas and develop specific areas for different types of products. St Thomas is being positioned for luxury tourism development as well,” Bartlett revealed.

The Pinnacle Montego Bay development is set to have four expansive 28-story Pinnacle towers, with 423 residences ranging from one-bedroom apartments to lavish penthouses, as well as 15 exclusive villas.

With news that a European company will soon be announced as the operator for the hotel-style services in three of the towers, Minister Bartlett said, “We wanted to position you as being at the hub of this pivot in luxury tourism in Jamaica.”