The Tourism Product Development Company Ltd (TPDCo) is inviting up to 100 persons in St. Thomas to participate in the Bed and Breakfast Programme, during the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup in March next year.

This was disclosed by TPDCo’s Training Officer, Eritha Huntley, at a recent sensitisation meeting with home owners, at the Social Development Commission (SDC) office in Morant Bay. The meeting was organised by TPDCo, in collaboration with the SDC, to discuss details of the programme and its financial benefits.

“If we can get about 50 to 100 rooms, we’d be happy, because the bed and breakfast programme is not about having an apartment or an establishment for lodgings; rather it’s about someone with an extra room inviting someone to share their home,” she said.

She noted that the parish is situated not far away from Kingston, and offered “a different type of tourism, a different environment from the hustle and bustle of Kingston, which some people will like”.

Miss Huntley, who is also responsible for Kingston, Portland and Manchester, told JIS News that TPDCo was seeking to achieve a target of 500 rooms islandwide before Cricket World Cup.

She explained that persons wishing to participate in the programme should submit their applications to TPDCo by the end of December, so that the rooms can be inspected.

Miss Huntley pointed out that before the rooms are approved, they would have to meet specific guidelines set by the Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture.

“Visitors are not necessarily expecting the ‘Ritz’, just somewhere nice, comfortable, decent and clean,” she added.
——-