BY CHERRIES WILES
Observer writer—
WITH more than US$5 billion being invested to develop infrastructure in Miami, the United States city already known for its vibrant nightlife, beaches and diverse culture is set to expand its offerings to visitors.
Joe Docal, director of travel industry sales for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (GMCVB), made the announcement during his presentation to approximately 25 travel agents at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Kingston last week Tuesday.
Through a partnership with American Airlines, the group of officials from the GMCVB were in the island to promote Greater Miami and the Beaches as an ideal travel destination.
In a bid to encourage the agents to promote Miami to their clients, Docal said that among the new developments were the American Dream Miami, Brickell City Center, Skyrise Miami, Wynwood, Frost Museum of Science, Design District, Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami World Center, and the expansion of Brightline — an express train service that provides inter-city travel in Florida.
“Most of the projects are complete and/or still evolving; for example, the Brickell City Center, Brightline, Design District, Perez Art Museum Miami, and the Frost Science Museum,” Docal told the Jamaica Observer. “Renovation on the Miami Beach Convention Center will be complete in September 2018. American Dream Mall, Miami World Center and Skyrise Miami are all future projects.
“Wynwood is an area in midtown Miami which continues to grow and evolve,” the director said.
Describing some of the future developments, Docal said: “The American Dream Mall is going to be the biggest attraction center.
“Fifty-five per cent of it is going to be attractions and the other 45 per cent is going to be shops. Skyrise Miami is going to be an observation and entertainment tower, it will have restaurants and bungee jumping and all sorts of things,” he said.
Docal told the Observer that “Miami is in competition to be one of the cities with the possibility of having World Cup matches in 2026”.
Last Tuesday, he also announced that, beginning in September, six new cruise lines will be added to the 20 that already operate out of Port Miami — the number one cruise passenger port in the world. The new cruise lines include Carnival Horizon, Symphony of the Seas, Norwegian Bliss, Allure of the Seas, Meraviglia, and Norwegian Encore.
According to Docal, there has been a “steady, consistent growth” of visitors from Jamaica to Greater Miami and the Beaches. The number of visitors from Jamaica to Miami increased from 183,547 in 2016 to 187,585 in 2017.
The increase represented a 2.2 per cent increase in visitors, resulting in Jamaica retaining its position as Miami’s second highest provider of visitors from the Caribbean, with The Bahamas in first place and Dominican Republic in third.
“The Jamaican market is quite important to us,” Docal shared, pointing out that Jamaicans were among the 70 to 75 per cent of the total 49 per cent of international visitors to Miami, who were primarily from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Indicating that on average, international visitors spend up to seven nights when they visit Miami, Docal encouraged Jamaicans to explore the city and possibly add an additional night to their stay in Greater Miami and the Beaches.
“I find that many visitors get comfortable,” Docal told the Observer. “They go to the same restaurants, go to the same hotels in the same area. They dine in the same area.
“So we say, ‘Go out and explore a little bit’,” he recommended. “’Take the time to explore the city, explore the destination’. There are a lot of exciting things that are happening right now in Greater Miami: There is culture; there’s art; there’s culinary experiences throughout all of Greater Miami and the Beaches; and there’s a lot of attractions down south that I’m pretty sure most persons who come don’t take the opportunity to really explore. I mean, we live there and we discover new things everyday.”
In the meantime, Preta Brennan, director of tourism business enhancement at GMCVB, shared similar sentiments as she encouraged the travel agents to share with their clients the various multicultural activities that Miami has to offer.
“Embrace, engage and rediscover, that’s what we would like you to do. Rediscover the things that are happening in our destination. We have the beaches, but of course we have a plethora of cultural experiences in Miami and I know that being a Jamaican myself, that culture and heritage is really important for us. Miami has just that, as well,” she said.
Brennan noted, too, that one of the latest initiatives from the multicultural department at GMCVB is the Art of Black Miami.
Art of Black Miami, which began in 2014, is an annual series of exhibits, pop-up galleries, artist showcases, and performances that highlight the artistic contributions of Miami’s black diaspora.
“We are very proud of this,” she said. “Miami has the Art Basel, that is our premier, marquee art festival that happens every December. What we discovered was happening because of Art Basel were all these organic festivals which were happening in our heritage neighbourhoods, Little Havana, Little Haiti, Coconut Grove Village West, and Historic Overtown. We were seeing film festivals, performing arts, art fairs — all from the lens of the African diaspora — and this was really a robust initiative that was helping to create an economic boom for the different heritage neighbourhoods.”
Highlighting the bureau’s new online campaign ‘Found In Miami’, Brennan told the Observer that the aim is to have individuals explore more places in the city and share their experiences on social media.
“We are dedicated to ensuring people know that Miami is a multicultural destination. We talk about ‘Out of many, one people’ here in Jamaica, but we’re a melting pot, as well, in Miami. We have a Latin influence, we have a Caribbean influence, we have so much to offer,” Brennan said.
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