Chairman of Cool Corporation and an accomplished jet skier, Joe Issa, says well organised national and international jet ski events could advantage Jamaica’s tourism product, change the way jet skiing is viewed and possibly give the country another sporting area to dominate.
“Jet skiing is an exciting sport; it is entertainment at its best. Everybody loves the thrills, young and old including both Jamaicans and tourists, who travel all over the world to ski for pleasure and or take part in competitions.
“Jet ski tourism is a big and increasing market, so even if we can tap only a tiny part of that section, we are still talking about millions in additional income to the island, and given Jamaica’s sporting prowess, we could be spawning future world champions,” says Issa, who is small watercrafts owner and jet ski enthusiast.
Issa’s statements come as Martinique test runs for a possible international Jet Ski race in St. Lucia. According to an online report, a team of Jet Ski enthusiasts from the French island spent the past weekend in Saint Lucia exploring logistical preparations for Saint Lucia’s possible involvement in an international Jet Ski race in 2017.
Martinique recently hosted the first round of Jetracer World Championship IJSBA, an international Jet race competition organised by The International Jet Sports Boating Association, which is the worldwide sanctioning body for personal watercraft competitive racing.
The proposal is for the 2017 race to start in Martinique and end in Saint Lucia; it will be the first time an international Jet Ski race will begin in one country and end in another. The trial run is said to have brought over 40 persons to Saint Lucia including three boats with security, emergency and other logistical personnel, who are expected to provide training and race orientation to the Saint Lucian Jet Ski pilots.
This year’s international Jet Ski race in Martinique attracted over 50 participants from the United States, Russia, Canada, Kuwait, Qatar, Belgium, Peru, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and France. The hope is that Saint Lucia Jet Ski Pilots will participate in the 2017 international race.
Ever since the first Kawasaki Jet Ski hit the water in 1973, the sport of jet skiing has been embraced worldwide with sales of small watercrafts increasing to new levels each year. Today, international Jet Ski competitions are shown in flight on some airlines.
Issa imagines Jamaica one day “hosting an international Jet Ski race starting in Ocho Rios and ending in Montego Bay with over a hundred participants and followers including the international media, as locals and tourists fill hotels along the coastline to view and cheer this great spectacle.”
It is said that Issa believes the Ocho Rios to Montego Bay coastline is one of the most scenic in the world, having hosted celebrities up and down that route onboard his father’s world-famous yacht, M/Y Zein, which was once owned by Aristotle Onassis and Princess Grace of Monaco.
Joseph Issa, Jamaica, Sea, Sand and Sun 