CASINO LAW PAVES WAY FOR CELEBRATION JAMAICA - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 15
The signing into law last May of Jamaica’s casino legislation now paves the way for private investments in large-scale integrated casino hotels on the island, that should catapult Jamaica to the pinnacle of Caribbean tourist destinations. Foremost among these investments is Celebration Jamaica, a multi-layered resort and casino development planned by developers of the luxurious Palmyra Resort & Spa condominium hotel. The proposed mega development, anticipated to become a significant competitor to the world’s best destination resorts, is to be located on 65 acres of ocean front land adjacent to The Palmyra in Rose Hall, Montego Bay.
BY DENNIS ERROL MORRISON
Dennis Morrison is a well known Caribbean economist and analyst who formerly occupied the post of Chief Technical Director in the Cabinet Office’s Development Division and served as Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Airports Authority of Jamaica. Central to the creation of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, Morrison spearheaded the drive that secured record foreign investment in the sector and under his leadership, the Airports Authority of Jamaica undertook major expansion and modernisation programmes at both Norman Manley (Kingston) and Sangster International Airports (Montego Bay).
To give effect to the law, the Government of Jamaica last June appointed a 5-member Casino Gaming Commission to administer the regulation of the industry. It will have responsibility for controlling casino gaming to ensure integrity and fairness, and to institute measures to protect children and others that could be vulnerable to exploitation arising from casino gaming. The Commission is also mandated to introduce controls to deter crime or any disorder associated with casinos.
The decision by the Jamaican authorities to introduce casino gaming is a bold move, to encourage the establishment of substantial integrated resort developments in which casinos are part of a mix of various tourism amenities and facilities available to guests. These resorts would expand Jamaica’s luxury accommodation, broaden the range of attractions in the island’s tourist industry, and place the country on the map as a true 5star destination, thereby boosting the industry and its contribution to the local economy.
Under Jamaica’s casino legislation, the issuing of casino licences will be approved for integrated resort developments only, which must have in aggregate at least 2,000 associated hotel rooms for each development. Initially, there will be a limit of three approved such developments in the island, each linked to a defined geographic area. Celebration Jamaica has been announced as one of the three licensees.
Integrated resort developments, a new concept, are really leisure, entertainment and business zones that combine hotels, restaurants, shopping, convention space, entertainment, theme parks and other attractions that provide complete experiences for leisure and business travellers. Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, involving investment of US$10.2 billion, are the most recently opened such developments which incorporate hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and casinos that are already revitalising the country’s tourist and business industries.
Early returns for visitors to these resorts and to the casinos suggest that Singapore’s expectation that the developments would propel the country to a targeted 17 million tourists annually by 2015, up from 9.7 million last year, could well be met. The resorts are also estimated to add about one percentage point to Singapore’s economic growth rate when they are fully operational in 2011, help to reduce the country’s reliance on recession-prone manufacturing, and will employ nearly 20,000 workers. According to Mr. Bob Trotta, Developer of Celebration Jamaica and The Palmyra Resort & Spa, “The passage of the casino legislation will prove to be a ‘watershed’ event in Jamaican tourism. Large integrated casino hotels will place Jamaica at the top of the list of Caribbean destinations. Event planners and incentive travel groups look at gaming as simply an additional tourist activity and integrated resorts include water parks, local craft markets, restaurants, lodging, entertainment and local cultural experiences.”
The Celebration Jamaica master plan includes a total of 2,000 rooms throughout the development, in the form of a 1,500-room, 16-storey casino hotel as well as several luxury real estate components. It will house a 75,000 sq. ft. casino with an entertainment offer of sports book and table games such as Roulette, Craps, Blackjack and Baccarat. The casino hotel will also offer a state-of-the-art discotheque, conference meeting space, including a ballroom, an outdoor function area, a spectacular lobby lounge overlooking the Caribbean Sea, bars, restaurants, health club, and spa.
Included in the resort will be a water and entertainment complex, night clubs, restaurants and shopping space. Mr. Bob Trotta expects that when completed, Celebration Jamaica will provide 4,000 direct jobs for Jamaicans, and predicts that the development “will also directly contribute significant tax revenue to the government, in addition to the tax revenue provided by the creation of new jobs.”
The state-of-the-art Montego Bay Convention Centre, located directly opposite to the resort, will add to the capability of Celebration Jamaica to cater to the incentive travel and conference market. The Convention Centre, which is now at an advanced stage of construction, will accommodate more than 6,500 persons in its Banquet Hall, Meeting Rooms and dedicated Exhibition Space.
The Palmyra, the first luxury residential community in Jamaica and the forerunner to Celebration Jamaica, opened its first tower of 100 condominium units, Sabal Palm, the Clubhouse pool, pool lounge bar and a US$4m white sand beach cove in December 19, 2009. With the hand-over of keys to the first buyers having taken place, Palmyra owners are now enjoying their residences. The second 100 unit condominium tower, Silver Palm, and the main floor of the Clubhouse, are set to open shortly. The third tower, the Sentry Palm, is slated to open by the end of this year, bringing the near 300 residences of one, two, three and four-bedroom residences into full operation.
Strata legislation, which was also passed by the Jamaican Parliament earlier this year, will modernise and strengthen the regulatory framework for developments like The Palmyra Resort & Spa and the real estate component of Celebration Jamaica. “The passage of the strata legislation was welcomed not only by developers and management companies, but more importantly by those individuals who have invested in property in Jamaica. In the past it was impossible to maintain property, as some owners refused to pay maintenance fees, to the detriment of all property owners. With the new legislation, a delinquent owner will have his property seized and sold to ensure all maintenance fees are paid,” stated Bob Trotta.
The largest private, resort investment slated to be made in Jamaica, Celebration Jamaica is set to lure high-end tourists to its shores to enjoy world class night life, championship golf courses, restaurants, shopping, conference facilities, water park and beaches.
BY DENNIS ERROL MORRISON
Dennis Morrison is a well known Caribbean economist and analyst who formerly occupied the post of Chief Technical Director in the Cabinet Office’s Development Division and served as Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Airports Authority of Jamaica. Central to the creation of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, Morrison spearheaded the drive that secured record foreign investment in the sector and under his leadership, the Airports Authority of Jamaica undertook major expansion and modernisation programmes at both Norman Manley (Kingston) and Sangster International Airports (Montego Bay).
To give effect to the law, the Government of Jamaica last June appointed a 5-member Casino Gaming Commission to administer the regulation of the industry. It will have responsibility for controlling casino gaming to ensure integrity and fairness, and to institute measures to protect children and others that could be vulnerable to exploitation arising from casino gaming. The Commission is also mandated to introduce controls to deter crime or any disorder associated with casinos.
The decision by the Jamaican authorities to introduce casino gaming is a bold move, to encourage the establishment of substantial integrated resort developments in which casinos are part of a mix of various tourism amenities and facilities available to guests. These resorts would expand Jamaica’s luxury accommodation, broaden the range of attractions in the island’s tourist industry, and place the country on the map as a true 5star destination, thereby boosting the industry and its contribution to the local economy.
Under Jamaica’s casino legislation, the issuing of casino licences will be approved for integrated resort developments only, which must have in aggregate at least 2,000 associated hotel rooms for each development. Initially, there will be a limit of three approved such developments in the island, each linked to a defined geographic area. Celebration Jamaica has been announced as one of the three licensees.
Integrated resort developments, a new concept, are really leisure, entertainment and business zones that combine hotels, restaurants, shopping, convention space, entertainment, theme parks and other attractions that provide complete experiences for leisure and business travellers. Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, involving investment of US$10.2 billion, are the most recently opened such developments which incorporate hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and casinos that are already revitalising the country’s tourist and business industries.
Early returns for visitors to these resorts and to the casinos suggest that Singapore’s expectation that the developments would propel the country to a targeted 17 million tourists annually by 2015, up from 9.7 million last year, could well be met. The resorts are also estimated to add about one percentage point to Singapore’s economic growth rate when they are fully operational in 2011, help to reduce the country’s reliance on recession-prone manufacturing, and will employ nearly 20,000 workers. According to Mr. Bob Trotta, Developer of Celebration Jamaica and The Palmyra Resort & Spa, “The passage of the casino legislation will prove to be a ‘watershed’ event in Jamaican tourism. Large integrated casino hotels will place Jamaica at the top of the list of Caribbean destinations. Event planners and incentive travel groups look at gaming as simply an additional tourist activity and integrated resorts include water parks, local craft markets, restaurants, lodging, entertainment and local cultural experiences.”
The Celebration Jamaica master plan includes a total of 2,000 rooms throughout the development, in the form of a 1,500-room, 16-storey casino hotel as well as several luxury real estate components. It will house a 75,000 sq. ft. casino with an entertainment offer of sports book and table games such as Roulette, Craps, Blackjack and Baccarat. The casino hotel will also offer a state-of-the-art discotheque, conference meeting space, including a ballroom, an outdoor function area, a spectacular lobby lounge overlooking the Caribbean Sea, bars, restaurants, health club, and spa.
Included in the resort will be a water and entertainment complex, night clubs, restaurants and shopping space. Mr. Bob Trotta expects that when completed, Celebration Jamaica will provide 4,000 direct jobs for Jamaicans, and predicts that the development “will also directly contribute significant tax revenue to the government, in addition to the tax revenue provided by the creation of new jobs.”
The state-of-the-art Montego Bay Convention Centre, located directly opposite to the resort, will add to the capability of Celebration Jamaica to cater to the incentive travel and conference market. The Convention Centre, which is now at an advanced stage of construction, will accommodate more than 6,500 persons in its Banquet Hall, Meeting Rooms and dedicated Exhibition Space.
The Palmyra, the first luxury residential community in Jamaica and the forerunner to Celebration Jamaica, opened its first tower of 100 condominium units, Sabal Palm, the Clubhouse pool, pool lounge bar and a US$4m white sand beach cove in December 19, 2009. With the hand-over of keys to the first buyers having taken place, Palmyra owners are now enjoying their residences. The second 100 unit condominium tower, Silver Palm, and the main floor of the Clubhouse, are set to open shortly. The third tower, the Sentry Palm, is slated to open by the end of this year, bringing the near 300 residences of one, two, three and four-bedroom residences into full operation.
Strata legislation, which was also passed by the Jamaican Parliament earlier this year, will modernise and strengthen the regulatory framework for developments like The Palmyra Resort & Spa and the real estate component of Celebration Jamaica. “The passage of the strata legislation was welcomed not only by developers and management companies, but more importantly by those individuals who have invested in property in Jamaica. In the past it was impossible to maintain property, as some owners refused to pay maintenance fees, to the detriment of all property owners. With the new legislation, a delinquent owner will have his property seized and sold to ensure all maintenance fees are paid,” stated Bob Trotta.
The largest private, resort investment slated to be made in Jamaica, Celebration Jamaica is set to lure high-end tourists to its shores to enjoy world class night life, championship golf courses, restaurants, shopping, conference facilities, water park and beaches.
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