Well done Jamaica what? What specifically did the government of Jamaica do to help these potentially stranded travellers?Originally Posted by bigbamboo
Well done Jamaica what? What specifically did the government of Jamaica do to help these potentially stranded travellers?
that's what i was wondering, too.
i read the observer article to see if there was any mention of exactly what the gvt., tourism industry and individual hotels were doing to make sure stranded travelers have a safe/affordable/enjoyable/etc. time while waiting to get home and didn't see anything.
And specifically, from the President of the JHTA:
Omar Robinson, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), has sought to assure tourists who may be affected by the Thomas Cook collapse to "continue to enjoy their vacation while we work out the details in getting them home."
http://www.rjrnewsonline.com/local/m...-jamaica-today
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My point exactly Rob. Lots of talk which may have resulted in helping to coordinate the "repatriation" of affected tourists but I sincerely doubt that other than for some "man hours" that they contributed in any way financially.
Why does Jamaica have to contribute actual dollars in order to help and assist in this situation for it to mean anything? And what is wrong with "human hours"? Do those Jamaican folks time and effort mean nothing?
Years ago when I was helping to organize spring break trips from Ohio State, when there was a problem with one of the charter flights, we were assisted greatly by the government. Between waivers, extensions, free phone calls, expedited permits, etc, it would have been a nightmare without the help.
A British company that pays British taxes goes bankrupt. Even the British wouldn't expect a small island like Jamaica to foot any part of the bill.
Jamaica has assisted to the point that the British High Commissioner publicly announced that he is grateful.
I think that the High Commissioner would be the one to know the best.
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I was simply shining light on the well known fact that the Jamaican government is quite quick to seek praise for its "efforts" in many situations when in fact most of those are sorted out by others and funded by others.
What's the British High Commissioner going to say in the midst of it all? The Jamaican government was not helpful?
As far as actual dollars? Come on Rob. Maybe you haven't flown to Canada or the U.S. lately and taken the time to look at the fees that the Jamaican government collects in various shapes and forms from airfare alone. ASTRONOMICAL! Don't tell me that their "human hours" is a significant expense relative to what they rake in from tourist generated fees not to mention the revenue from GCT directly and indirectly that each tourist contributes to the JA economy.
Jeff,
Could you please shed a little more light on your well known "fact" that the Jamaican government is quite quick to seek praise for its "efforts". I live here and have never read, heard or seen anything about this "fact".
The British High Commissioner is perfectly able to say what he means, and he did have the choice to say nothing. But he chose to say what he said.
Until November of this year, Jamaica has been under the economic rules of IMF which is controlled by the USA. Many of the taxes and fees at the airport are a direct consequence of the IMF. Departure fees for Caribbean countries range from $15 to $51, Jamaica being in the middle with $35. The US international departure tax is $18.60 with a whole slew of taxes and fees including flight segment, frequent flyer and even a DHS September 11 fee. Jamaica is far from unique or astronomical in it's fees.
The TEF fee is a tourist charged fee going directly back to the tourism areas in the form of upgrades such as the sidewalk on Norman Manley and the added street lights without raising the taxes on the average Jamaican.
And I feel that Jamaican human hours are worth just as much as the human hours in any other country.
As for the GCT, that is worth a whole discussion on its own and can be exceedingly boring. But to keep this easy, the sales tax in NYC can be as high as 18.375% with Jamaica at 16.5%.
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Specifically, from the British High Commissioner:
"British High Commissioner to Jamaica Asif Ahmad says he is grateful for Jamaica's support in assisting customers of travel firm Thomas Cook, which collapsed into bankruptcy on Monday, leaving some 600,000 holidaymakers stranded in a number of countries, including Jamaica."
http://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/lates..._Cook_collapse
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