Executive Chairman of Cool Corporation, Joe Issa who, for over two decades was arguably the biggest name in Jamaica’s tourism industry, welcomes the inscription of The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJCMNP) on the World Heritage Site as a major, long-overdue development that will go a long way in enhancing the country’s tourism product and business development in the Maroon Community.
Issa’s statement comes on the heels of Jamaica’s celebration of Heritage Week, which culminated on National Heroes Day on Monday October 19, 2015.
“Like our national heroes, The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is a formidable Jamaican heritage, habouring the country’s rich and diverse flora and fauna and its major watersheds; its listing on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites will bring it to the attention of nature lovers around the world, who form a large and growing segment of visitors to the island. This will also bring business to the Maroons, who have lived in the area for several centuries,“ Issa says, noting that “it ranks among the world’s most popular sites like the Great Wall of China.”
Issa’s view of the importance of the BJCMNP for Jamaica’s tourism product, is supported in Stephanie Todd’s October 19, 2015 article published by the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) titled “Heritage Week 2015: The Blue and John Crow Mountains on the World Stage”, at http://jis.gov.jm/heritage-week-2015-the-blue-and-john-crow-mountains-on-the-world-stage/.
Informing that the BJCMNP was inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2015, the article explained that, “World Heritage status is given to natural and cultural sites across the globe that are considered to be of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), meaning they possess cultural and natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and are of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity,” adding, “The mountain range joins a list of iconic sites such as the Great Wall of China, The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, The Taj Mahal of India, Acropolis of Athens, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as well as the Pitons in St. Lucia.”
Issa is an original advocate for UNESCO’s acknowledgement of Jamaica’s unique mountain range, in George Jude’s April 25, 2014 article in PRWeb, titled “UNESCO’s World Heritage recognition of Jamaica’s renowned Blue and John Crow Mountains to Boost Tourism, community businesses – Joe Issa”, at http://www.prweb.com/releases/josephissa/worldheritage2014/prweb11775194.htm. At the time of the article, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, on which Jamaica was sitting for the first time, had just begun evaluating the country’s nomination of the BJCMNP for inscription on the World Heritage List.
The PRWeb article said, “Chairman of Cool Corporation and Tourism Guru Joseph Issa, who backs Jamaica’s famous Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, says in an interview that the recognition will be a big boost to the island’s tourism business and that of the Maroon community which has legally occupied a section of the Park for nearly three centuries.”
Issa posited that “getting World Heritage status for any of our many historic, natural and cultural sites is a major boost for the country, in terms of tourist arrivals and business opportunities for the local communities…but in the case of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, there are strong elements of all three, which make it a formidable attraction that will change the face of business in the Maroon community.
He added that the BJCMNP would “attract a variety of visitors for whom products, services and facilities will have to be provided,” and that “like the Blue Mountains, there will be opportunities to build cabins, a visitor centre, campsites, picnic areas, hiking trails, restaurants and bars, craft shops, boutiques and public conveniences at the John Crow Mountains.”
“This means income for the Maroons in that part of the Park, including farmers, labourers, skilled workers, crafts men, barbers, hairdressers, waiters, bartenders, tour guides, clerical staff, managers, entertainers, restaurant and bar operators,” said Issa, who had earlier copped the Jamaica Observer Tourism’s Brightest Spark award..
According to the JIS, the BJCMNP is located on the eastern end of Jamaica, covering parts of “the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and a small section of south-east St. Mary…It is the largest contiguous area of natural forest in Jamaica, protecting 193 acres of forest on mountain slopes, comprising 10 of the island’s 26 watershed management units spanning four parishes and 4.4% of Jamaica’s land surface.”
The government news agency informs that the mountains of the park dominate the skyline of Eastern Jamaica, with the highest point in the island, Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 metres) located in the southern region of the park, and comprises three distinct mountain ranges – the Port Royal, Blue, and John Crow Mountains, which are divided by the Buff Bay and Rio Grande Valleys on the north side of the ranges.
