We all know that there is a strong link between major concerts in the western end of the island and major music events, but Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett put it in figures on Tuesday in a way that I have never heard before.

Speaking at the launch of the 2009 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at Devon House, Bartlett said that, as title sponsor, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) had put nearly $500,000 into the festival. In return, he was looking for the 5,000 visitors that the promoters had promised. Turn Key Productions' Walter Elmore, in turn, assured Bartlett that they were on track to hit the target.

Bartlett also said that there was space and, in fact, a need for two more major events to pull in tourists, one in March and the other in the latter part of the year. Sumfest already has the summer slot.

Reggae Sunsplash

We all know that Reggae Sunsplash was created to pick up the slack in the slow months on the tourism calendar. That is why there was not much hope for it after it left MoBay - and that's why Sumfest was quickly created to replace it. However, while it is all well and good to know that major events are created for foreigners and we 'yardies' are really there to make up the crowd (actually, to be fair, there is significant internal tourism for Jazz and Blues), there is the question of who the festival benefits directly.

It is the hoteliers, the large ones at that. And I believe that precious little of the intake comes back to the general population.

The public purse

Sure, many a local techie and support crew will be hired for Jazz and Blues and Sumfest, as well as performers (more so for the latter), but in the end the spend generated by the visitors will be concentrated in the hands of the few, the organisers and the hoteliers.

We have to ask ourselves if this is fair; the JTB money is not, as far as I know, generated by them. It comes from the public purse. So what it comes back to is using the money of many to enrich a few, with a few crumbs dropping off the table and being taken as loaves of bread by the vendors, taxi operators and assorted local hustlers.

Harsh but, I believe, true.

It is also clear that there is a huge gap between events like Rebel Salute and Sting, which pull in thousands of mainly Jamaicans, and events like Jazz and Blues, which appear to be geared mostly towards visitors. This smack of discrimination, to me, is incredible, in a country which reggae and dancehall has given so much visibility.