Jamaica Tourism: Full steam ahead with visitor security and safety

Dr. Peter Tarlow is currently in Jamaica conducting a security audit as he leads the eTN Travel & Tourism Safety Training Program in the country. He has spent the last few days preparing a national tourism security plan, and over the next months will travel across Jamaica to speak with many visitors and locals. Dr. Tarlow’s aim is to get to know Jamaica from the inside out.

One of the ways that Dr. Tarlow is learning about Jamaica is by spending time with the country’s tourism police. Last night, he went out with four police officers in Montego Bay, a tourism security unit composed of 52 officers that is on active duty every day of the year. Its officers work 8-hour shifts, 5 days a week.

The police offers were quite open about both their challenges and successes, and Dr. Tarlow said it was an evening in which he saw a great deal and learned a lot. “This is my third trip to Jamaica, and each time I visit, I learn something new,” he said.

Jamaica Tourism is working with the eTN Travel & Tourism Safety Training Program to develop a unique approach to deal with visitor safety and security. Jamaica Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett has made this the focal point for a new way forward for the visitor industry on this popular Caribbean island.

If the all-inclusive hotel Dr. Tarlow had the good fortune to stay at is any indication, Jamaica Tourism is moving full steam ahead with providing visitors with a positive holiday experience. Peter said he was amazed at the numbers of staff that work there and that between cleaners, technicians, swimming pool cleaners, and more, there seemed to be a never-ending sea of people making sure that everything was perfect at the hotel.

“The grounds are perfect, there is never a piece of trash on the ground, and the food is served by an ‘army’ of waiters and waitresses. It is all too easy to lose touch with reality and begin to think of oneself as royalty,” he described.