Holness touts Mavis Bank’s Airbnb potential

Residents of Mavis Bank, St Andrew, are being encouraged to tap into the tourism market by offering their properties are Airbnb facilities.

Juliet Holness, member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural where Mavis Bank falls, said that through Airbnb, residents can cater to those visitors looking to experience the constituency's scenes and tranquility.

"You know how many people want to find some communities like beautiful Mavis Bank? And many people here have houses with extra rooms. Not everybody who comes to Jamaica wants to go to a hotel, not everybody wants sea, not everybody wants a pool; many visitors to Jamaica would love to come to Mavis Bank and just hang out in a house up at Top Road [or] go down by Mount Charles," she reasoned.

Airbnb rentals have become increasingly popular globally and have given ordinary Jamaicans a chance to earn a living from the hospitality sector. In March, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that 29 per cent of the 2.6-million stopover visitors who came to Jamaica in 2022 did so through Airbnb.

Holness told Mavis Bank residents that the division's cool, mountainous communities would do well as part of the industry, so that visitors can "stay at your yard and pay you for it".

Situated in the Blue Mountain range, Mavis Bank is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, sprawling coffee plantations, and vibrant flora and fauna.