Government of Jamaica

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News Releases

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (second right) leads a unifying group handshake with (from left) Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith, outgoing Chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Hon. Godfrey Dyer and incoming TEF Chairman, Ryan Parkes at the Ministry’s One-day Strategic Visioning Retreat held last Wednesday at the AC Marriott Hotel.

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Ryan Parkes Named New TEF Chairman

Minister Bartlett Salutes Godfrey Dyer’s 14 Years of Exemplary Service KINGSTON, Jamaica; Thursday, April 30, 2026: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has named Ryan Parkes, Group Chief Executive Officer of Island Car Rentals and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme (TWPS), as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), effective May 1, 2026. The appointment, recently approved by Cabinet, was announced at the Ministry’s One-day Strategic Visioning Retreat held on April 22 at the AC Marriott Hotel. In making the announcement, Minister Bartlett also paid tribute to the outgoing TEF Chairman, Hon. Godfrey Dyer, whose 14-year tenure at the helm of the TEF represents the longest record of chairmanship in the fund’s history and one of the longest across government.
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Tourism Minister urges Employers to Fully Participate in Pension Scheme

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 17, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, is urging all employers in the sector, to participate fully in the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme, which is scheduled to become operational early next year.
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Jamaica welcomes 700,000 more Visitors over three years ….earnings to reach US3.7Billion

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 14, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that Jamaica has welcomed an unprecedented seven hundred thousand (700,000) more visitors over the last three years. The tourism Minister also highlighted that the island is set to earn US3.7Billion by the end of the year, which represents an almost doubling of foreign exchange over the same period.
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Tourism Minister calls for the Establishment of a Regional Tourism Resilience Fund

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 07, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has called for the establishment of a Tourism Resilience Fund, which will be the region’s first funding facility specifically designed to assist highly-susceptible tourist destinations in the region.
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Bartlett Congratulates S Hotel and Kanopi House on New Condé Nast Traveler Best Hotels Rankings

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 7, 2019: Luxury and lifestyle travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler, has ranked S Hotel in Montego Bay and the Kanopi House in Portland as #1 and #6 best hotels in the Caribbean and Central America, respectively, in its 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.
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Tourism Ministry to Host 2nd Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 04, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry will be hosting the Second Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas, under the theme “Building Tourism Resilience for Sustainable Development’. The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled to take place on October 9 and 10, at The University of the West Indies’ Regional Headquarters.
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Bartlett announces Luxury Planet Hotel for Jamaica

TORONTO, Canada; October 2, 2019: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett today announced that a Sunwing Travel Group led luxury Planet Hollywood Hotel & Resort will break ground in Trelawny next year.
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