Jamaican Hotels Boost Security as Tourists Cancel

BusinessWeek May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Jamaican hotels are adding security to reassure tourists as clashes in the capital Kingston cause visitors to cancel trips, said Wayne Cummings, the head of Jamaica’s Hotel and Tourism Association.

There have been 300 hotel room cancellations on the Caribbean island since Prime Minister Bruce Golding declared a state of emergency May 23 to contain gang violence related to the government’s efforts to extradite an accused drug lord to the U.S., Cummings said today. At least 44 people have been killed in street battles between police and supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the target of a four-day manhunt.