Portmore is a coastal city in southern Jamaica in Saint Catherine, southwest of Kingston. Portmore began as a large area for schematic residential development in the late 1960s, as the WIHCON organization built thousands of prototype housing units in an effort to alleviate the over-population of Kingston. It has since grown as a suburban city to Kingston, as its large population travels via the portmore toll road into Kingston daily for work, schooling, and many other essential services. Portmore was granted Municipality status recently, and has its own City Council and Mayor, following the British-based model of other Jamaican cities' governments. While Portmore is not marketed as a tourist destination for the millions of incoming travellers to Jamaica every year, there are many places for entertainment, eating, relaxing and enjoyment such beaches,resturants, hotel and much more. Today, Portmore is one of the most important cities in the island nation and comprises approximately 10% of the population of the Kingston Corporate Area.