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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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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Jamaica Welcomes Nonstop Flights From Poland

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 8, 2017: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett yesterday announced that Jamaica now has once-weekly nonstop flight service from Poland.

TEF Hands Over $14.5M Hospitality Laboratories to MoBay Community College

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, November 7, 2017: A $14.5 million donation from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has enabled the Montego Bay Community College to upgrade and outfit its Hospitality, Housekeeping and Dining Room laboratories to world standards.

Rebel Salute Driving Tourism Growth & Diversification

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 6, 2017: In recognition of its 25th anniversary and pointing to its contribution to the increasing diversification of Jamaica’s tourism product, Delano Seiveright, Senior Advisor/Strategist to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, highlighted that the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Tourism and its lead agency the Jamaica Tourist Board, will continue to support Rebel Salute, a major annual Rastafari-influenced live music show held in January along the North Coast.

SOUTHWEST Adds Yet Another Daily Flight To Mobay - Now Up To 7 Flights A Day

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 6, 2017 A mere five months after inaugurating daily non-stop flight-service between Fort Lauderdale and Montego Bay, Southwest, a major US airline, recently upped its operations to include two daily flights between both cities. Thereby adding another 52,000 new seats over the in and out of Jamaica and increasing connectivity to other US cities.

Minister Bartlett to Address International Travel Crisis Management Summit In London

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 03, 2017: In his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS) and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has been invited to give an address at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.

Over 300 participants from 60 countries Already Registered for UNWTO Global Conference

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; November 1, 2017: As Jamaica puts the finishing touches to a broad-based plan to host the world’s first global conference on “jobs and inclusive growth: partnerships for sustainable tourism’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett announced yesterday (October 31) that over 300 participants from 60 countries have already registered to attend the November event.