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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Devon House to Come off Govt Budget by 2020 – Bartlett Steakhouse at Devon House Officially Opened

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 18, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett told attendees at the official opening of the Steakhouse on the Verandah restaurant at the Ministry of Tourism run Devon House that the popular heritage site will come off the Government’s budget by 2020.
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Tourism Ministry to Host First Falmouth Heritage Expo

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 11, 2017 : Falmouth’s noted Georgian architecture and rich historical heritage will take centre stage on October 18, with the inaugural staging of the Falmouth Heritage Exposition, in Water Square in the parish capital.
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UNWTO Disaster Recovery Program Action Plan For Caribbean to be Crafted at SOTIC 2017

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 08, 2017: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett will travel to Grenada this week where he will meet with key members of the Jamaica-led ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’ to hammer out a recovery action plan for tourism-dependent islands recently ravaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
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Bartlett Welcomes Grand Jewel in Tourism Crown

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, September 27, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has welcomed the addition of Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa to the range of resort accommodations being offered by Jamaica’s diverse tourism industry.
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Falmouth To Benefit From Newly Appointed Tour Guides

Falmouth, Trelawny: September 28, 2017…….. Ten newly appointed tour guides participated in an awards and closing ceremony on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, after completing a two week training in Team Jamaica and Tour Guiding skills. The appointment of the tour guides in the Falmouth area is one of the initiatives to curb visitor harassment in Falmouth. The programme, namely the Falmouth Guide Services was created through the efforts of The Honourable Dr. Horace Change, Minister without portfolio, Economic Growth and Job Creation who is also the Chairman of the Falmouth Re-Development Committee along with the partnership of the Tourism Product Development Company Ltd. (TPDCo) which provided Team Jamaica and Tour Guide training for the graduates.
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Record Arrivals Mark the Start of Tourism Awareness Week

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, September 25, 2017: The local tourism sector began its celebration of Tourism Awareness Week (TAW) 2017 with news that Jamaica continues to experience record-breaking visitor arrivals. For the first eight months of this calendar year, January to August, there was a 6.9 percent increase in stopover arrivals in comparison to the corresponding period for 2016.
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