All Fishermen and Boat Tour Operators are invited to a meeting on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 5:30 pm at the Breds Office which is located at the King Fisher Plaza, Calabash Bay.

The Treasure Beach Destination Management Group will be holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 3:00 pm. All Stakeholders including the Business Owners and Managers within Treasure Beach are invited to this meeting.

What is the Destination Management Group?

Charlene
In order to have Treasure Beach Green Globe Certified the Treasure Beach Destination Management Group had to be established as it is a pre-requiste of going forward with the process. It consists of all the Stakeholders of the community, eg., JTB, TPDCo, Parish Council, NWA, business owners and persons who have an interest in the development of the community.

What about ordinary citizens who live in treasure beach who are not business owners or fishermen? Can they participate too or is this just another quasi-political movement pretending to have roots among the common folks?

This sounds 'great'. However, if we have all these stakeholders on this Committee and you meet monthly, i.e. Parish Council, NWA, how comes the stakeholders in the Community don't put pressure on the NWA and Parish Council to fix our roads. You see you guys are putting the cart before the horse. It doesn't make sense about the Community being Green Globe Certified with these 'donkey roads' - Nonsense!! It's all about getting a good name for themselves and not about the Community at heart. Let's put Community first and the good name will come after.

Why is there so much bitterness emanating from some persons on this message board?
Why should well meaning organisations like BREDS be expected to take on every challenge on behalf of the community?
Why are the motives of these civic minded organisations be challenged at every turn?
Perhaps, if you were to examine the record of BREDS you would see that the organisation has a commendable track record: The playing field and hardcourts at Sandy Bank school; the additional classrooms, library, bathrooms and computers at the same school, benefiting hundreds of children from this very community!
How about the ambulance which has made such a difference in the lives of so many locals (not just the tourists!)?
What about the training in Emergency Response that has been provided for local residents?
These and other developments have come to Treasure Beach in recent years, thanks in large measure to the organisational skills and contacts of key persons in BREDS.
Instead of constantly cursing the darkness around you, why don't you start lighting some candles, yourselves?
Or, is it that your competence lies only in pouring water on other people's candles?
Some of you make me sick!!!

I have been a travel agent for many years and have booked hundreds of people to Jamaica. There are currently 18 hotel properties with Green Globe Certification in all of Jamaica. Of these, 14 (or nearly 80%) are huge all-inclusives (including Sandals, Beaches, Couples); the other 4 are large luxury resorts (including Round Hill and Royal Plantation). None is as neraly as small as the largest hotel in Treasure Beach. While Green Globe certifies that a property is environmentally friendly (use of recycling, conservation of electricity, and more), I have never booked a client to a GG property because of the certification. This is not why a client selects Hedonism; the majority of its guests are unaware of the certification. GG has few if any adverts and maintains a low profile, so my clients are unaware of its existence. When I talk up Treasure Beach to a potential visitor, I emphasize that it lacks the AIs and other large hotels found on other parts of the island; to me, this is a positive difference that I attempt to sell to my clients.

Further, while I believe it is possible for an entire community to be GG certified, this is exceedingly rare. If it were to be done in Treasure Beach, it would take a profound effort on the part of the entire community, most especially the hotels, villas, guest houses, and other businesses. This would require participation by the vast majority of establishments. Are the vast majority of guest accommodations and other businesses (the "stakeholders") actually coming to the DG meetings and participating in this programme?

Certification is quite expensive. A large property such as Sandals can easily add the certification cost to its overhead; a villa or guest house would need to raise its rates to cover initial benchmarking plus annual certification fees.

Can the establishments in Treasure Beach not be environmentally friendly and conserve resources on their own? I think so. The last villa in which I stayed, for instance, used fluorescent instead of incandescent lights, thus conserving 75% of electric for lighting; they did this on their own, without the intervention of any outside groups. They also used rainwater whenever possible, heated water via solar, and they kept their beach area quite clean.

It would seem prudent and intelligent if a list of the Green Globe methods were made available to all establishments, perhaps in a mailing by BREDS or GG or a posting on this site. Then, the hotels, villas, guest houses, and myriad small businesses could learn more and choose to follow these methods wherever practical.

Meanwhile, BREDS and other civic-minded community groups could concentrate on those items which have more impact on tourism. The roads are in deplorable condition. There is an unfinished drainage canal. Mosquitoes are allowed to breed in water containers and depressions in the land. (And I would doubt proper disposal is made of motor oil, batteries and so forth; I would also doubt composting is done.) These conditions, most especially the untenable road situation, has a far more negative impact on tourism than does the absence of GG certification.

Exactly who is making the "go GG" decision on behalf of the establishments and citizens of TB? My suspicion is that it is being done by very few and may result in subsequent enforsement and costs for all area "stakeholders." (While GG is not synonymous with government, its enforsement has a similar feeling.) I realise we need community leaders, but one aspect of TB which appeals to my clients is the diverse nature of all the area establishments. You have sophisticated, upscale restaurants alongside tiny bars that hold perhaps four people. You have accommodations of all sizes and in all price ranges. These are part of the charm of TB.

My vote, assuming I had one, would be to forget Green Globe and to concentrate on what tourists and citizens alike want: a friendly, clean, safe community with a road system that is not an embarrassment.

Perhaps I cannot be counted as a stakholder. However I would like to know the feelings of those who are. I would like to know what the business owners and citizens think about this.

To What About Me:

There have been notices posted at the post office, BREDS office, and various other establishments in TB notifying all of us of when the meetings are taking place. There was also a community meeting held at the Sandy Bank School last month where Ms. Brown made a presentation on Green Globe certification. Although I was not around for that meeting, I heard it was well attended.

I would recommend you be proactive - call the BREDS office or email them at info@breds.org - and ask them to notify you of the meetings. I'm sure your attendance would be welcome.

There are many community organizations working on worthwhile projects and in need of assistance. Check out our Community page on TB.Net for information on some of these community groups and information on how to contact them.

All you need to do is step up and volunteer.

"All Fishermen and Boat Tour Operators are invited to a meeting on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 5:30 pm at the Breds Office which is located at the King Fisher Plaza, Calabash Bay. "

"It consists of all the Stakeholders of the community, eg., JTB, TPDCo, Parish Council, NWA, business owners and persons who have an interest in the development of the community".

The above 2 quotes from prior posts implied that only certain people were being asked to attend. That was the basis on which I posted. I would think that ANY citizen of treasure beach should be at the top of the list of Stakeholders. And yes, if these Stakeholders like NWA,JTB are rubbing shoulders with the power brokers in the community, how come no one can get any answers on the bad roads and the flood abatement etc. etc? There is a big silence where nobody knows who are the parties that have the responsibility for fixing these problems! Get real, a person can live abroad(check my IP) and still have their heart in treasure beach.

We are not denying that Breds is not doing a good job. We are also a part of this- the Community. However, why allow such a grand opportunity, to have such important bodies and not impress upon them, which they already have seen, because they would have to drive on the roads, to get these gutter-roads fixed. You see, we let it appear that this forum is to be used for all glorious things (TB Website), but it is also used to highlight problems in the Community. Our point is when we start talking about developing a park for the Community etc. and we are disgusted with our roads, this is putting the cart before the horse. This park was purchased with tax payers money, and it is tax payers money that is to be used to fix the roads.
It's like having a huge, beautiful mango, and we are praising it, shining it, etc. and when we cut the mango it is bad inside. We are saying, we cannot encourage Tourists to come with these roads, it is not a good impression. We need to get our roads fixed and we then talk about South Coast Tourism. You talk to some of them, and they say TB is nice, but the roads are atrocious. Don't we have some shame. They will say I can't believe your roads are not fixed. They come here every year and it get's worse and worse. I am ashamed. It's the Govt. responsibility, but persons are meeting with these powers, pressure them man, that's all we are asking. Let us set our priorities in order. Good job Breds!! We are not taking that away from you - We appreciate the good work you have done and are still doing in the Community.

To 'Community at Heart'

I suspect that those persons (such as some in BREDS) who interract with the 'powers-that-be' do raise concerns regarding the state of the roads when they meet with them.
Having done that, however, they have to move on with those projects that they are making progress on!
Money that's available for developing a sports park, for example, is not likely to be available for fixing the roads. That's just not how budgeting is done in this or any other country. One pool of funds would come from the budget of a particular ministry or agency, while anoter ministry/ agency has its own budget and spending priorities.
Regarding the Treasure Beach roads, that's the responsibility of the National Works Agency, which is in the Ministry of Water, Housing, Transport and Works (headed by Bobby Pickersgill).

Now, just think about the many roads across the island that also require expensive remedial action. The agency will decide which to fix in what order, according to its own criteria.
To some extent, the onus is on each community to demand action to fix its own roads, and perhaps displace some other communities on that list of priorities.

Again, I say, instead of cussing groups like BREDS, which already have their own commendable priorities, why not organise your own group to pressure the NWA to fix the road?

You might have seen the recent Gleaner article on the state of the roads. Why not copy that article and others that have been written on the same issue, and send them on to the NWA and the minister along with your own strong arguments demanding quick action? These days there are many people who have digital cameras. Perhaps someone in the community could do a series of photos and include those in your communication with the authorities.

Do sumting, yuself, man!

The notices indicated two separate meetings. One for the Fishermen and Boat Tour Operators at 5:30 pm but before that at 3:00 pm the Destination Management Group will have its monthly meeting.

As mentioned before anyone with an interest in the development of the community is invited at the 3:00 pm meeting. Issues affecting the community will be dealt with in the meeting. Feel free to attend as an action plan will be presented to the meeting.

We have been meeting various groups in the community informing them of what is happening. We met with the TB Women's Group and had a large community meeting where everyone was invited. We are now meeting with all the other groups in the community. We will also be meeting with the Sandy Bank Primary School's PTA and the Citizens Alert Group at their meetings on Thursday.

Getting the community Green Globe Certified will have many benefits, such as, increased tourists arrival to the area, reduction in operation cost for businesses and a clean and beautiful community.

There are many persons who visit our island do look for hotels or villas that are environmentally friendly. We need to cater to these people too and to make Treasure Beach the place to visit.

Green Globe Certification, as noted in the well-stated posting from "Travel Agent" previously made here, has had no significant impact on increasing tourism or the sales appeal to consumers of hotels and villas and guesthouses and businesses and residents in Jamaica. Outside the AIs, only the small, under 20 room Mockingbird Hill in Port Antonio has gone that route -- and it has not been a strong drawing card, but more a personal conviction. Nor is there any significant proof that outside a few upmarket and pricey properties in the Caribbean,
in Belize like Coppola's or Cuisinarts on Anguilla or an eco-tent-development on St.John that Green Globe Certification has succeeded in reducing operational costs. On the contrary, and very much so. These "benefits" are, like the sports park, unproven suppositions that fly in the face of both reality and the priority needs of TB.
That one hotel operator in the area wants it should not be the prime reason that this rather
dubious seal of approval should be followed blindly by others.

I am presuming that BREDS will be able to answer these questions regarding Green Globe certification:

• What exactly will cause the reduction in operation costs for businesses? (My understanding is these have to do with such things as using less electricity and water; if so, could these savings not be realized merely by following environmentally-sound practices?)
• How much, at a very minimum, would an establishment need to pay for Green Globe benchmarking and subsequent certification?
• Isn’t the certification fee payable annually (as opposed to a one-time fee for benchmarking)?
• Is it not true that in order to be Green Globe certified, establishments must first be members of the Jamaican Tourist Board?
• Is it not true that very few businesses in Treasure Beach belong to the JTB?
• Is it not true that the JTB has rules, regulations (and dues) that are more appropriate for large hotels and North Coast-type establishments than they are for the type of businesses that are in Treasure Beach?
• If one or more hotels or other establishments in Treasure Beach wish to be Green Globe certified, can they not do this on their own without the entire community being certified?
• Which businesses in Treasure Beach are undergoing benchmarking for Green Globe certification?
• As a civic-minded organization, is BREDS willing to post a list of environmentally-sound practices and suggestions for Treasure Beach businesses to follow?

I would come to the meeting to ask these questions; however, I do not live in Treasure Beach. I vacation there. And, I will continue to do so, whether or not the community gets certified.

The purpooses of green globe sound good.Who would not want a clean and beautiful community?But why do we need green globe for this?Is green globe a service that comes in to clean and make things pretty or will all the businesses and villas and hotels have to continue to do this themselfs?Of course we will.If green globe doesn't do this why cant we do this ourselfs,maybe better then we are doing it now?Why do we have to pay green globe plus do our own work?Cant someone from Jakes or BredsPLEASE just tell us suggestions.You know most people wont join if they have to pay.If Jakes wants to join this people should let them alone to do it.Its there right.But not everyone will want to join.

Where does Green Globe advertise to the travelling public? Is it in America? Outside of word-of-mouth, which I admit I have never heard prior to this string, how are guests supposed to learn of this programme? Moreover, if Green Globe doe not run a promotional campaign to potential visitors, how can Breds suggest Green Globe is all that influential?

Although there are many individual properties designated as Green Globe, there is only one entire community in the whole world with this distinction, and I believe it is in New Zealand. If Treasure Beach achieves this very difficult goal of first benchmarking and then being approved, it will mainly be a marketing tool to attract more visitors. The annual expenses for business owners and rigorous annual inspections and paperwork to maintain certification year after year will take a serious long term commitment from 90 percent of the community. So far very few plan to participate. It is imperative that local business owners be informed of exactly how much the annual expenses will be in order to make an informed decision to participate.

Green Globe has almost zero recognition in the US and invests little to nothing in making its message known. There are awards by similar eco-oriented groups announced annually in travel magazines like Conde Nast Traveler/US (Jakes got a second-place recognition 2-3 years ago), but,like EARTH DAY, without constant promulgation, the message can't resonate if it's neither seen nor heard. Which makes the return-on-investment also next to nothing.

For more information on Green Globe, check out www.greenglobe.org.

Green Globe promotes the properties that are Benchmarked and certified on their website plus they do have publications which are sent to various Travel Agents and indiviuals across the world.

The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) has given Breds funding for the completion of the project. EFJ is satisfied with the progress so far. The funding will pay for the benchmarking and certification of four properties. The four have not yet been selected but we do have the participation of some properties. We would be happy to have additional properties come on board even if they do not wish to be benchmarked or Green Globe certified.

Properties can apply for benchmarking and eventually certification on their own. However, for this project, the fees will be covered in the grant. Breds would be willing to apply for additional funding for other properties/businesses in the future.

Properties must be members of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). Whilst we understand about the requirements of the JTB the Treasure Beach Destination Management Group has been having dialogue to get this changed to suit the Treasure Beach area.

We do need 90% of the community to participate so thats why we have been having meetings with all the different groups of persons in the community.

There are different means of saving operational costs, such as, using the energy saving bulbs and recycling papers etc. Breds would be willing to offer you environmentally friendly information to anyone.

Am sure that we would want Treasure Beach to create history in Jamaica and the Caribeean as the only one that has been Benchmarked and Certified. Lets become environmentally friendly and try to esure that we preserve our environment. The visitors will come even more so than before. Let the gem of Treasure Beach continue to glisten as we work together to achieve this task.

We regret to inform you that the TB Destination Management Group meeting has been postponed. The new meeting date is Wednesday September 20, 2006 at 2:00 pm.

The meeting with the Fishermen and Boat Tour Operators has also been postponed. It will be held on Wednesday September 20, 2006 at 4:00 pm.

We do apologized for the inconvenience this may cause.

Belonging to the JTB is quite impractical for most businesses in TB. As Beds has implied, the current requirements are such that most TB businesses could not or would not want to join unless the JTB's stringent rule structure were changed. The JTB is more suited for businesses in Negril, Ocho Rios, and MoBay; that is why so very few businesses in TB are members. Also, if one goes to the JTB website, it becomes clear that the JTB understands little about marketing and appears to be quite unsophisticated. My guess is those very few TB businesses who do belong to the JTB realize essentially no return on their membership dues.

Exactly which TB businesses are already JTB members?

We have the Destination Group because of the pie-in-the-sky possibility of Green Globe certification, and because this has made Treasure Beach more visible to the Government, along comes NEPA to harrass the hotel and villa owners. Meanwhile the roads continue to crumble. If the Government could figure out a way to get the hotel and villa owners to pay for the roads, they would. If they could figure out how to tax the air we breathe, they would do this too.

This all sounds good but we need roads in order for this to happen, let the gem of Treasure Beach continue to glisten as we work together to achieve this task. Is everyone flying into Treasure Beach? let the Gem continue the roads needs to be fixed the poor men ar spending far too much money on repairs.

How much more will my taxes go up once it's benched marked. Jamaica is struggling with a fair property tax system. I could go on but I will leave this for others to respond.

Promoting through a Web site without key affiliates or keyword purchases or sending brochures to travel agents without cross-promoting the message via non-industry print, non-industry e-newsletters or other media does not do the job. It does not reach the key consumer market which doesn't know about the concept , won't go looking for it by keyword, doesn't know about the site nor uses a travel agent (few do). The concept of Green Globe is laudatory. But as a
marketing tool, it's very weak in the key US market which sends the majority of visitors to
Jamaica, and Treasure Beach.

The TB area could not have gotten its exposure from the Destination Management Group. Its obvious the area has been viewed by many persons in high places in events that have been happening eg. The Literary Festival where my friends who work at NEPA comes to evry year. She said she did her private investigation of what has beeen happening by the local persons "chat out" the community business. Plus what has been happening in the news re the canal etc has exposed the community.
How could you want the villas and hotels to fix the roads here. Its the government responsibility to do so. The citizens take the neglect by the govt and vote them in each election. Its time you guys wake up and see that the country is heading towards a disaster and get them out of power.
The community being Green Globe has nothing to do with taxes. Its the evaluator of lands that does that and its based on what is happening and what u have on your property.
Its obvious that Breds has the money to go ahead with the project so why worrying about cost? Are you saying that because the tourist not into Green Globe then Breds should stop it? Maybe you need to call them at the office and say so.