National Outcome 12 of Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan (NDP) identifies Tourism as one of Jamaica’s leading industries, being a major contributor to GDP and employment, as well as the largest foreign exchange earner. National Outcome 12 also acknowledges the need to improve the standards and level of customer service in the tourism industry. Accordingly, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, was mandated to facilitate the maintenance, development, and enhancement of the tourism product.

Against the background of Vision 2030 objectives and the importance of the tourism sector to the economy, amplified by the adverse impact of the COVID-19 on visitor arrivals, we conducted a performance audit to determine the extent to which TPDCo was efficiently and effectively managing its project-related activities in accordance with its mandate. We sought to assess the adequacy of TPDCo’s systems of internal control and contract management for the tourism projects under its purview over the review period.  We found that TPDCo had in place the necessary governance structure, despite the need for improvement in some areas including its human resource practices and performance reporting. Further, consistent with its mandate, TPDCo sought to increase the range of product offerings in the tourism sector and in March 2019, implemented guidelines and the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the management of projects. Further, TPDCO’s stated commitment to the conduct of feasibility studies and cost benefit analyses prior to the approving of projects, should auger well for the implementation of affordable and high impact projects for the tourism sector. Nonetheless, we noted opportunities for improvement as TPDCo’s records management was deficient and we identified weaknesses with project management processes in the absence of feasibility studies.