Jamaica embraces Japan’s place of pre-eminence in the field of Tourism Resilience

TOKYO, Japan; September 25, 2018: Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, along with His Excellency Ricardo Allicock, Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan, met recently, with Mr. Hiromi Tagawa, President of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and Chairman of the Board of the JTB Corp., to continue discussions on Japan’s partnership with Jamaica in the establishment of a Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management, which is to be housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

This, along with his encounter with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, His Excellency Hiroshige Sekō, as well as senior level executives of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), served to further promote the government’s agenda towards enhancing tourism relations between Jamaica and Japan.

In keeping with the foregoing, talks were held on possible airlift options and packages that would see greater interest in travel to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region. The Minister noted recent trends in the Japanese millennial market, as an important feature of Japan’s increasing outbound travel and the opportunities for closer engagement between the travel agencies of both countries.

Minister Bartlett acknowledged the significant efforts of the Japanese government, travel agencies and other private stakeholders in staging a successful 2018 Tourism Expo, given the level of international support received and partnerships forged - including Japan’s partnership in the Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management in Jamaica.

The Minister noted that Jamaica embraced Japan’s pre-eminence in the field of Tourism Resilience and was honoured to have their contribution at the level of the Board of Governors in the Global Resilience Centre.