Following the announcement a couple days ago that weekly flights between Jamaica and affluent European country Switzerland had begun, at least one local stakeholder, Marie Hall Smith, believes that it is the perfect time to begin the aggressive quest in boosting tourism through diverse product offerings.
Hall-Smith who is the principal of The Face Place Salon and Managing Director of The Face Place Institute of Aesthetics is confident that investing in beauty and wellness products along the popular tourism strips in the West and in Ocho Rios, is just the way to help to diversify the sector.
“Over the years, the Ministry has made its position of growing the tourism relationship with the European market clear and we have heard a lot about innovation in the sector to help with the realization of that plan. But as another lucrative market of tourists becomes available to us, now is the time for Jamaica to offer other experiences besides beautiful beaches and hotels,” She said.
Hall-Smith’s operation at The Face Place Institute of Aesthetics in Kingston has been training young Jamaicans across the island and other Caribbean nationals in the spa and beauty therapy fields which have become important to support dermatology. Likewise, a demand for beauty treatments continues to grow on a global scale.
Europeans and Americans in particular are known to travel to other countries for beauty and wellness treatments.
As a result, Hall-Smith maintains that while a number of the local players may offer beauty treatments and products as an addition to tourism offerings, they may in fact be neglecting a growing market of people, including Europeans who are dedicated to travelling just for beauty and wellness treatments.
“We see where a number of Asian and Latin American countries have invested in spa towns and wellness centers along with other products for interested tourists in the European market. I believe that a similar approach can be taken here in Jamaica,” Hall-Smith added.
For her, that investment would be in infrastructure and equipment for dedicated wellness centers and spas that can be marketed to travelling beauty enthusiasts, and most importantly, training local beauty operators within the tourism industry to be able to compete on a global scale.
“I am certain that local operators in the space are grateful for the new markets being opened to us but I urge the Ministry to advance public private partnerships to get these kinds of investments underway as we attempt to realize our goals for sustainable tourism growth.”
Hall-Smith, determined to be a part of the strategy for growth, recently announced that the beauty training school which she leads, will now offer certification options from the esteemed CIDESCO International - which is world renowned and sets the highest standard of beauty therapy training in the world.
It would mean that Jamaican players with this certification can provide similar services and value proposition to those of the popular Asian and Latin American spa and beauty tourism districts,
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