Minister Bartlett Named Among Global Icons of Tourism

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 13, 2022: Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has been recognized among 50 global icons of travel and tourism “who have innovated and created new benchmarks in the travel, aviation, tourism, hospitality and allied sectors.”

This latest accolade for Minister Bartlett is recorded in a book written by veteran journalist and Secretary General of the powerful Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), Sagar Ahluwalia.

In 2018 PATWA awarded Mr. Bartlett Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism, adding to the numerous awards conferred on him over 40 years of public service. In 2017 he was accorded Caribbean Tourism Minister of the Year at the Caribbean Travel Awards.

In global icons of travel and tourism, Mr. Bartlett is recognized as having positioned tourism “as a catalyst for economic growth and the transformation of communities” and establishing the five networks (Gastronomy; Shopping, Attractions and Transportation; Health and Wellness; Sports and Entertainment; and Knowledge) to fuel growth.

Mr. Bartlett has also initiated the Tourism Linkages Network (TLN) within the Ministry to strengthen sustainable linkages between tourism and other sectors of the economy. The TLN is a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund and is governed by a Council comprised of public and private sector leaders.

“The region has also benefited from the minister’s innovative thinking, as he views other Caribbean and Latin American destinations not as Jamaica’s competitors but as partners that can use their combined tourism offerings to attract more visitors to experience multi-destination tourism,” states the citation which identifies him as “an ardent proponent of public private partnerships (PPPS), which he considers essential to the sustainable development of the tourism industry.”

Mr. Bartlett was first appointed Minister of Tourism in 2007, serving until December 2011.  Subsequently, as a member of the Shadow Cabinet, he travelled the world forging alliances with strategic partners for global initiatives which he has been implementing since returning to the helm of the Ministry of Tourism in 2016.

Hailed as one of the world’s leading Tourism Ministers, Mr. Bartlett has represented Jamaica regionally and internationally, serving as Chairman of the Board of Affiliate Members of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Vice Chairman of the UNWTO Executive Council, as well as Vice Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

He received the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) Champions in Challenge Award at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London in November 2018 and served as Chair of the Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM). Minister Bartlett was recently elected by acclamation as the new Chairman of the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR).

Mr. Bartlett is also founder and Co-Chair with former Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which has been gaining worldwide acceptance with satellite centres being established in areas such as Canada, Kenya, Jordan, Bulgaria and London. In 2019 he was officially presented with the TRAVVY Awards inaugural Chairman’s Award for Global Tourism Innovation.