Jamaica Scores Big With Travvy Tourism Awards

NEW YORK, New York; January 24, 2019: Less than two months after Jamaica swept the World Travel Awards in Portugal, the island nation scored big at the 2019 Travvy Awards held in New York City last night taking five major awards. This included Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett copping the inaugural Chairman’s Award for Global Tourism Innovation and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) attaining the best Tourist Board in the Caribbean award.

Jamaica also won Best Wedding destination, Best Honeymoon destination and Best Culinary destination to thunderous applause from the packed hall of primarily American travel industry stakeholders.

Jamaica’s team of officials was led by Delano Seiveright, Senior Advisor/Strategist to the Minister of Tourism and Donnie Dawson, Deputy Director of Tourism, the Americas and other JTB managers. 

Minister Bartlett was recognized with the inaugural Chairman's Award for Global Tourism Innovation for the development of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM).  The award was collected by Mr. Seiveright, on behalf of Minister Bartlett who is attending the international tourism trade fair FITUR in Spain and concluding negotiations with two new hotel brands that are set to develop in Jamaica.

“I am truly humbled. We accept these awards on behalf of Jamaica and our tourism stakeholders who continue to be thought leaders. As for the Global Tourism Innovation award, it is very timely given the fact that we are about to officially launch the Centre which is one of a kind and will be a serious game changer for tourism worldwide,” Minister Bartlett noted from Madrid, Spain.

The Travvy Awards team in its official comment on the award noted that the “introduction of the Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management by Jamaica Tourism Minister Hon Edmund Bartlett, and the foreseen positive impact it will have on tourism, placed Mr. Bartlett and his beloved Jamaica at the top of the list. His role within the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is a clear representation as to his commitment to advancing tourism financially, culturally and in a sustainable manner.”

The official launch of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre is scheduled for January 30 2019, during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The Centre, which will be housed at the University of the West Indies Mona, was first announced during the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, held in Montego Bay in November 2017, as a response to political turmoil, climatic events, pandemics, shifting global economies as well as crime and violence which can be devastating to travel and tourism.

The annual Travvy Awards—known as the Academy Awards of the travel industry—was held on Wednesday, January 23 at Gotham Hall in New York City to recognize the highest standards of excellence in the travel industry by honoring travel companies, travel products, travel agencies, and destinations for their outstanding achievement. 

This year, over 100,000 votes—the largest voting block of travel agents in history—were cast to determine the 2019 Travvy Awards winners.