Some 1,200 Jamaican high school students from local high schools, colleges and universities will this summer help to ‘Spruce Up Jamaica’. 

The students will be attired in their Spruce Up shirts and will work as courtesy corps volunteers and tour guides, in attractions and hotels. Part of their mandate will be to offer assistance and to show kindness and hospitality to visitors. Tourism  Minister Ed Bartlett noted that the purpose of the programme is to begin the process of getting the youth “to appreciate tourism, not only as a source of income, but as a source of their personal development.”

Another objective of the programme, Mr. Bartlett pointed out, is to allow the youth to create an atmosphere of hospitality and friendliness within the resort areas. Citing the advertising tagline, ‘once you go, you know’, Mr. Bartlett emphasized that the visitor experience is extremely critical as “it will determine whether they come back or if they will tell others to come.”

He said he firmly believes that the programme will add a great dimension to the product experience of the visitor, the  so that, if nothing else, they can say they came to Jamaica and saw some wonderful young people who met them on their arrival and gave them a wonderful time. “This”, he added, “will help to soften the blow that we get from that perception that Jamaica is an unsafe destination.”           

                                                  Source : www.jis.gov.jm