NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024 11 EDMUND BARTLETT FEATURE Published October 21, 2007 Earl Moxam/Senior Gleaner Writer AT THE turn of the 20th century, the Titchfield Hotel exemplified Port Antonio’s pre-eminent position in Jamaica’s emerging tourism industry. Today, in the early years of the 21st century, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett wants a nearby piece of real estate to provide a catalyst for renewal in the town’s fortunes and the country’s international tourism image, just as that former hotel did. To accomplish that, however, the minister has acknowledged the need for the Titchfield High School, which stands on the site of the town’s old fort, to be relocated, thereby freeing up the space for a return to the hospitality industry. BENEFITS TO ALL It would benefit all concerned, he argued, because, on the one hand,“it would free up space for real high-value resort property development, to generate income and wealth for the country”. On the other hand, he said, the move would provide an opportunity for the students to be relocated to another site where they can benefit from “a better opportunity for a good mix of recreation, sports and academics”. Dr Donald Rhodd, member of parliament for Eastern Portland and a former president of the Titchfield Alumni Association, believes it is in the school’s best long-term interest to relocate. SUITABLE SITE NEEDED He is reiterating, however, that a suitable site has to be acquired and properly developed before the move could be achieved. Initially, Folly was thought to have been an ideal location, but, according to Dr Rhodd, that site is also being looked at for tourism development. Now, he says, Passley Gardens, where the College of Arts, Science and Agriculture (CAPE) (including the Passley Gardens College) is the “front-runner”. The high school’s lofty perch overlooking the Port Antonio Harbour with its breathtaking view of nearby Navy Island has long been the envy of many potential investors looking at the Portland capital. Now, the new tourism minister, anxious to make his mark on the industry, wants it to figure prominently in the overall plans for the town. Port Antonio, he told The Sunday Gleaner, is to be made“the boutique cruise-ship mecca of the Caribbean!” Under that plan, smaller ships carrying a smaller number of “high-end, big-spending” passengers are to begin calling at the port in 2008. To complement that development, the minister said that a second marina needed to be built, plus a range of significant on-shore facilities, including high-end accommodations, such as condominiums, to meet the expectations of the luxury-yacht market. “A man coming into harbour with a million-dollar yacht, wants to be close enough to the harbour so that the last thing he sees before he goes to sleep is his yacht, and the first thing he sees when he gets up is his yacht!” he quipped. Plans for Port Antonio are only part of an overall thrust by Bartlett, the new tourism minister; a man in a hurry to increase Jamaica’s visitor arrivals dramatically and the country’s earnings from the industry. EXCITING PROSPECTS Among the more exciting prospects inherited from the last administration is the ongoing development of a new cruise-ship pier at historic Falmouth in Trelawny. That facility is projected to begin receiving weekly calls in 2009 from The Genesis, which, with 9,000 passengers and crew, will be the largest cruise ship in the world. Ultimately, he said, Falmouth could increase its capacity to 30,000 cruise passengers on a weekly basis. On the drawing board as well is a plan to expand the berthing space available in Ocho Rios to accommodate“four to five ships”on a daily basis. The new Government is exploring the possibility of relocating shipment of aggregate, sugar, cement and other materials from Bartlett’s plans for tourism PLEASE SEE PLANS, 14
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=