LONDON, United Kingdom; November 07, 2016:   Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, today (November 07, 2016) disclosed that Jamaica’s tourism sector has registered an increase of over 5 per cent in both visitor arrivals and gross foreign exchange earnings for the first nine months of 2016.

Speaking from the World Travel Market in London, the Minister said that “the latest figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board indicate that for the period January to September 2016, total arrivals, both stopover and cruise, increased by 5.4 per cent, with 2,876,220 recorded visitors when compared to the same period last year.”

The United States market contributed to the bulk of the growth, up 7.6 per cent numbering 75,193 additional visitors over the same period last year.  However, it was the increase from Canada that the Minister was most pleased with, noting arrivals from that country are now up by 7.2 per cent, numbering 17,732 additional visitors over the same period last year.  This is in stark contrast to the 6.8 per cent decline in arrivals from Canada last year and a further 9.8 per cent decline from that market during the period of January to June of this year.

“In my first stint as Minister of Tourism, we grew the Canadian market by 100 per cent. We started with some 163,000 visitors from Canada and when our term ended we recorded approximately 370,000 visitors. However, over the years there was a noticeable decline. So, we had to strengthen our marketing efforts in this important market and I am pleased to announce that it has produced positive results,” Minister Bartlett emphasized. 

He noted that increase in arrivals has also resulted in a 5.9 per cent rise in gross foreign exchange earnings.

“I am happy to share that we recorded earnings of approximately US$1.9 billion, up from a provisional estimate of US$1.8 billion for the same period last year. This is very unique, as it is rare for earnings to be higher than the arrival figures,” the Minister added.

The Minister, who is accompanied by the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), John Lynch, and the Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook, has been meeting with key stakeholders and members of the Diaspora while attending the World Travel Market, which runs from November 7-9, 2016.

The World Travel Market is the leading global event for the travel industry to meet industry professionals and conduct business deals. Through its industry networks, unrivalled global reach, WTM London creates personal and business opportunities, providing customers with quality contacts, content and communities. It is expected to attract some 50,000 patrons from 182 countries across the globe.

Minister Bartlett is expected to return to the island on November 8, 2016.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 09, 2016:  In light of the impending local government elections on November 28, 2016, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that the much-anticipated Tourism Outlook Seminar (TOS), slated for December 6-8 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, has been postponed.

“We recognise the significance this monumental event will have, not only on our country’s tourism product but also on our region. It was therefore very important for us to have the event at a later date to ensure that it is not overshadowed by the outcome of our local elections on November 28,” said Minister Bartlett.

The TOS, which was launched on October 27 at Kingston’s iconic Devon House, is to be rescheduled to a date to be determined in the new year. It will be held under the theme: ‘Tourism: Navigating Global Changes for Continued Growth’.  It is being hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

“The 2017 Tourism Outlook Seminar will be one for the history books. I encourage everyone – policy makers, representatives of government ministries and agencies, hotel owners and senior managers, investors, academics, airline executives, travel agents, travel media, tour operators and other business partners – to mark your calendars as this will definitely be beneficial to you,” he added.

 The Tourism Outlook Seminar will see contributions from global experts on critical topics, such as managing communications in the face of issues such as pandemics, terrorism and natural disasters; establishing multi-destination tourism; travel facilitation and connectivity and packaging destination experiences among other topics.

It will feature presenters and panellists from renowned local and international organizations, such as: the UNWTO, Airbnb; TUI; Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health; the World Travel & Tourism Council; the Caribbean Tourism Organization; the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA); and Sandals Resorts International.

“The Tourism Outlook Seminar will still feature our Summit of Tourism Ministers from the region, which is something I am very excited about. We are going to discuss how we can change the game from the highly competitive tourism strategies that have not given us growth, to a new more collaborative approach.  We have extended invitations to tourism ministers from the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, the Turks & Caicos Islands, St. Martin, St. Maarten and the Cayman Islands,” explained the Minister.

Registration for the event will remain open and persons are being encouraged to register online and access additional information at www.visitjamaica.com/tourismseminar .

“I want to use this opportunity to thank everyone who has already registered to participate in this event as well as our loyal sponsors. Your support and interest in the development of our nation’s tourism industry has certainly not gone unnoticed. I eagerly anticipate sharing ideas and information with you at the event so that we can all play our part in the development of our country,” said Minister Bartlett.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Friday, November 11, 2016: The Ministry of Tourism’s Linkages Network has stepped up an initiative to plug the leakage of billions of dollars in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors resulting from imports by local tourism entities.

A Tourism Demand Study, commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism in 2015, determined that “the annual leakage due to imports amounts to $65.5 billion in the manufacturing sector and between $1.6 billion and $5 billion in the agricultural sector.”

The study concluded that “the prospect for import substitution is great as there exists a high level of receptivity among tourism sector stakeholders to local goods and services.” It further posits that “this receptivity could be converted to business opportunity as the projected demand for agricultural and manufactured goods indicate that there is tremendous opportunity for trade that could be as high as $56.7 billion annually for processed foods alone, $5.3 billion for fruits, and $1.6 billion for vegetables.”

The demand study also identified constraints hampering the strengthening of tourism linkages with the domestic economy, including the ability of the agricultural sector to supply large and consistent quantities of quality products.

Inadequate support for the promotion of locally manufactured goods to foreign investors in the tourism sector was identified as one of the main obstacles for the manufacturing sector. The need was also seen for improved communication between buyers and sellers in relation to product availability and prices.

In a concerted effort to overcome these obstacles, the Linkages Network brought stakeholders in manufacturing and agriculture face to face with purchasing managers in the tourism sector.  They met at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Wednesday, November 9, 2016.

Jordan Samuda, who sits on an agricultural working group of the Tourism Linkages Council, which supports the work of the Linkages Network, chaired the round-table meeting. He said bridging the gap and lessening the leakage was a major focus. “What we’re trying to achieve here with the purchasing managers is getting down to the folks who are on the ground day to day, seeing the challenges that face them with supplies,” he said.

Project Manager, Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald-Riley, noted that a directory of all manufacturers in the country was being developed with a database that would make it easier for purchasers in the hotel sector to identify and access suppliers of the products they need. It is expected that the directory will be completed by December of this year.

Mrs. McDonald-Riley reminded the gathering that the Tourism Linkages Network was established in 2013 to ensure that tourism entities absorbed as much as possible locally manufactured goods and services. “If that happens then the economy will grow, we will create more jobs and earn much needed  foreign exchange,” she said.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 14, 2016:  Honouring his commitment to develop new tourism-partnerships, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett today (November 14, 2016) announced that the Ministry of Tourism is set to sign a major agreement with Airbnb to augment and drive growth within the tourism industry.

The Minister, who made the announcement during a meeting with Airbnb executives, at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices, is very optimistic about the potential impact this will have on community tourism and is eager to finalize a memorandum of understanding to concretize the partnership.

“We are very happy to be partnering with Airbnb and know that it will be mutually beneficial to both entities involved. Once drafted, I know that the agreement will take into account our goal of destination assurance, which ensures our credibility in the marketplace. It will also allow us to utilize analytics across their social platforms. This will be a great tool for us to build a better collective resource management platform for our destination,” said Minister Bartlett. 

According to Airbnb’s executive with responsibility for Public Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, Shawn Sullivan, the market for Airbnb in Jamaica is rapidly growing and is extremely lucrative. The site currently accounts for 2,300 active hosts and 4,000 active listings in the past year from Jamaica.

“Generally in the Caribbean people will rent their entire homes. Here in Jamaica, we are seeing a mixture between private homes versus a private space in someone’s home. We were responsible for bringing in roughly 32,000 tourists within the past year and we believe that this collaboration will allow this to grow exponentially,” explained Mr Sullivan.

Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world online or from a mobile phone or tablet. It connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. With a growing community of users, Airbnb is one of the easiest ways for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

APPLETON, St. Elizabeth; Jamaica, November 20, 2016: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has welcomed as timely, a US$7.2 million investment that will make the long established Appleton Estate Rum Tour the gateway for tourism on the Jamaica’s South Coast. Minister Bartlett headed a list of dignitaries who broke ground recently for the Appleton Estate Visitor Centre which on completion, will be a showpiece surrounded by vast fields of sugar cane and home of Appleton, one of the world’s top rum brands.

The Tourism Minister was particularly pleased that the project was being undertaken in an area of Jamaica where investment of that magnitude has not been a common feature and he saw it as “the beginning of a new chapter in employment opportunities for a large number of people in the Siloah, Appleton and Maggoty area and to build out with you a seminal and aspirational experience that will bring millions of people to these parts over the coming years.”

Appleton Estate is owned by J. Wray & Nephew (JWN), a subsidiary of Gruppo Campari and the investment project was outlined by JWN’s Chairman, Clement “Jimmy” Lawrence, who noted that it will provide “a unique visitor experience.” It will involve upgrading of the existing facility and its expansion by another 25,000 square feet by October 2017.

The main building will be the welcome centre with a theatre, luxurious bar, five-star restaurant and other amenities preceding the historical tour of the estate’s distillery and its ageing warehouses. It is highly anticipated that the rail service which ground to a halt many years ago, will be rolling again around 2017 or shortly thereafter and form an integral part of the plan to more than double the 50,000 visitors who currently take the Appleton Rum Tour.

Minister Bartlett lauded JWN for “going beyond manufacturing to expanding the range of offerings that Jamaica provides as a destination and helping to make us a much desired place that people want to visit.” He was also pleased that elements of the exciting expansion plan, namely food and music, were two of the passion points that will attract visitors. “So you have a complete offering here that will excite everyone who wants to come to Jamaica and within that frame will encapsulate all that a visitor needs when he gets into a destination,” said Mr. Bartlett.

With the inclusion of a state of the art restaurant under the project, Minister Bartlett said “we see this as a bold statement that Jamaica is about to make to the world as a centre of gastronomy.” Also, work is progressing by the Ministry’s newly formed Gastronomy Network to, among other things, create a gastronomy mapping platform with easily accessible information on the best food offerings island-wide; foster the development of food tours across the country, including elements of food preparation and building out festivals as a product for gastronomy tourism. The Appleton Rum Tour will be the centrepiece of that gastronomy arrangement for the South Coast.

He implored Appleton to aim for a level of increase in visitors to the attraction way beyond its own projection, “because we are growing the industry at a rate that will enable you to do that. Cruise is going to grow exponentially and you must prepare yourself for the post 2017 arrival of the Appleton Train again. And you must prepare yourself for the expansion of the highway within these areas that is going to create connectivity in this Appleton area through Accompong and back into Montego Bay.”

FALMOUTH, Trelawny; November 23, 2016: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has embraced a suggestion from Captain Johnny Faevelen, Master of the world’s largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, to strategically engage crew members on cruise ships to aid in promoting the destination to attract more passengers to the island.

The cruise ship with a maximum capacity for some 6,780 guests and 2300 crew members, was launched just five months ago by Royal Caribbean and made its inaugural visit to Falmouth on Tuesday November 22, 2016. At a welcome reception onboard, Captain Faevelen strongly suggested that while focus must be placed on passengers the crew “are the people you must take best care of.”

He pointed out that it was the crew members who helped to promote the various destinations to passengers, which informed their decision to get off the ships to see for themselves. He said they are the persons telling the guests about the different locations and being treated well by the people on land at the different ports augured well for how they promoted the island.

“The crew members are the most loyal customers you have,” he noted, reaffirming that “the most loyal people are the ones who come back not every other week on board the ship, not two months, not four months but eight months of the year and we love Jamaica. We love the friendliness, the happiness, the ‘no problem man’ attitude; we love Jamaica,” declared Captain Faevelen.

Underscoring the point, Minister Bartlett said “the Captain gave us a very interesting addition to the core of key first instance contact which we knew was there before but really it has not been brought to our consciousness in the way that the Captain did today, that the crew are indeed your first point of contact for the visitor coming into your destination.”

He endorsed the fact that “a lot of these visitors, while they are on board the ship, get their feeling about the destination, get their desire for the destination, get their allurement to the destination from the expressions and statements of the crew and the manner in which the destination is presented by them.”

The Tourism Minister added that “we take the guidance that he has given us and we will seek to engage the crew members in a more strategic way. I want to implore Jamaicans that wherever you see a crew member, take the best care of them because that’s truly your first point of contact to your destination.”

Minister Bartlett emphasised that cruise was a very essential part of the tourism offering that Destination Jamaica provided and the partnership with Royal Caribbean was very significant, resulting in the establishment of Falmouth as the largest port in the Caribbean. This development he said had made cruise tourism “rise to new heights” with 1.2 million arrivals last year in Falmouth alone while Montego Bay and Ocho Rios shared 500,000.

“This year, so far, we’re right on target; we’re actually 9 percent above last year and earnings have also grown. The period January to September 2016 saw a 9.6% increase in cruise passenger arrivals, with 1,223,608 recorded passengers, when compared to the same period last year,” he explained.

“We recorded cruise passenger earnings of approximately US$111 million, up from some US$98.3 million for the same period last year,” disclosed Mr. Bartlett.

Two other Royal Caribbean cruise ships, namely Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are already berthing in Falmouth and Captain Faevelen said a fourth ship, not yet named, was under construction and expected to also come here after it has been commissioned.

In welcoming Harmony of the Seas, he noted that it was joining its sister ships and Jamaica was happy to be the destination in the Caribbean to have the pleasure of welcoming the three largest cruise ships in the world. “So we’re excited about the continued partnership and the relationship with Royal Caribbean and to see continued growth. To have all three major ships coming here is very significant and will enhance the growth of the industry in Jamaica and by extension the Caribbean,” he said.

Mr. Bartlett gave an assurance that “we are committed to building out the experiences that the cruise visitors require,” adding, “we are dedicated to ensuring a safe, seamless and secure destination.” Consequently, “we have been investing along that line; our partners the Port Authority of Jamaica and the UDC (Urban Development Corporation) they have been collaborating to build out creative experiences that will enable not only the over 8000, including crew, that come on the Harmony of the Seas to have fun along the port but to be able to radiate throughout the town of Falmouth and to benefit from the culture of the people.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 27, 2016:  Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett is urging his fellow Ministers of Tourism and other tourism partners across the region to use the forum which will be provided at the upcoming Tourism Outlook Seminar (TOS) 2016 to develop a model that will drive growth in regional tourism, despite numerous global challenges.

Speaking at the press launch for the event on October 27, 2016, at Kingston’s iconic Devon House, Minister Bartlett, outlined that while tourism is undoubtedly one of the world’s largest and fastest growing sectors it faces many complex challenges. These include terrorism, pandemics, natural disasters, catastrophes, economic uncertainty in source markets and the ever-changing demands of travelers; all of which pose serious threats to the sustainable growth of tourism.

He emphasized that TOS 2016, which is slated for December 6-8 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, will provide the ideal opportunity for national and regional tourism policy makers and stakeholders to examine these and other issues and discuss ways to address them in order to foster continued growth.

“The seminar will also look at how we in the Northern Caribbean space can develop a model that is going to make us grow at rates that are higher than the current position – because the Caribbean is arguably the slowest growing destination in world tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

“At the seminar, I will be hosting a Summit of Tourism Ministers from the region. We are going to discuss how we can change the game from the highly competitive tourism strategies that have not given us growth, to a new more collaborative approach.  We have extended invitations to tourism ministers from the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and the Cayman Islands,” Minister Bartlett added.

The event will be held under the theme: ‘Tourism: Navigating Global Changes for Continued Growth’. This year’s staging is being hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The seminar is being funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

It will see contributions from global experts on critical topics, such as managing communications in the face of issues such as pandemics, terrorism and natural disasters; establishing multi-destination tourism; travel facilitation and connectivity and packaging destination experiences among other topics.

TOS 2016 will feature presenters and panellists from renowned local and international organizations, such as: the UNWTO, Airbnb; TUI; Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health; the World Travel & Tourism Council; the Caribbean Tourism Organization; the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA); and Sandals Resort International.

The Minister also announced that Caribbean Airlines has thrown its support behind the initiative and is the preferred airline partner for the seminar. 

Registration for the event is already open. Persons are being encouraged to register online and access additional information at www.visitjamaica.com/tourismseminar .

“I encourage everyone – policy makers, representatives of government ministries and agencies, hotel owners and senior managers, investors, academics, airline executives, travel agents, travel media, tour operators and other business partners – to go to the JTB website and register for TOS 2016 today,” Minister Bartlett emphasized.

Minister Bartlett to Encourage Investment in Timeshare Vacations Subsector
 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 25, 2016:  Efforts to foster investment in island’s timeshare vacations subsector, will be further boosted as Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett departs the island today (October 25, 2016), to attend the International Shared Ownership Investment Conference on ‘Timeshare’s Economic Impact on Destination Markets’ in Miami. 

“I am very excited to attend this important conference on timeshare vacations. I strongly believe that it is important for us to continuously diversify Jamaica’s tourism product and the introduction of timeshare vacations to our product mix is a key way for us to achieve this. It is a unique form of tourism which has the potential to create new economic opportunities for Jamaicans while fuelling investment and enhancing Jamaica’s international appeal,” shared Minister Bartlett.

The conference, which is scheduled to run from October 24-26, 2016, is a major event which provides a forum to educate potential entrants, developers and destination representatives who want to learn more about the opportunities and future trends in the vacation ownership industry.  While there, Minister Bartlett will participate in a high level panel discussion. He will outline details including the objectives of introducing the timeshare legislation act in Jamaica, the potential economic impact and the importance of investing in the island.

“I will use this unique opportunity to urge international interests to examine timeshare as an area of our tourism sector to invest in as the returns can be very lucrative.  The recent introduction of Timeshare Legislation now makes this a viable are for investment. Vacation ownership is one of the fastest-growing areas of the global tourism sector and there is significant potential for further growth and development of the timeshare product in the Caribbean and especially in Jamaica,” he said.

The Minister is scheduled to return to the island on Wednesday October 26, 2016.

OCHO RIOS, Jamaica; Thursday, October 20, 2016: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that over $1 billion has been invested in Ocho Rios in recent years to enhance the resort town. He also noted that except for commercial developments, all significant improvements taking place in Ocho Rios were being driven by the tourism dollar. “Billions of dollars have been spent in Ocho Rios over the last ten years in attempting to build out the destination and to ensure destination integrity,” Minister Bartlett said.  

The Minister was addressing tourism stakeholders at a joint meeting of the Ocho Rios Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association and the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce, at the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande Resort yesterday (October 19).

He pointed out that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), have pumped huge amounts of funds into the town in partnership with other government agencies such as the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ).

The Tourism Minister listed some of the contributions. In continuation of its significant support for national security, in the last two months a further $100 million have been committed to the Jamaica Constabulary Force to acquire new vehicles and repair disabled ones.

In solid waste, TPDCo has a $500 million programme with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for the rest of the fiscal year to ensure resort areas are cleaned and maintained.

Additionally, under the Ocho Rios Improvement project, some $400 million has been allocated to the town for this redevelopment project, some of which has already been spent including; $68.2 million on the Turtle River Road and $29 million refurbishing the cruise ship pier. Another $13 million has been spent enhancing from the pier gate to the marina and $97 million on the terminal building and parking lot.

Minister Bartlett disclosed that “a further $286 million will be spent in the coming months as we continue our efforts to renew and improve the visitor experience in Ocho Rios.” From that sum, $102 million has been earmarked for redevelopment of the boardwalk/promenade from the Marina to the parking lot at Ocho Rios Bay Beach and $184.7 million for redevelopment of Main Street from Turtle River Road to the Ocean Village Shopping Centre.

Ocho Rios is also to be the site of one of three artisan villages which will help to streamline the business “of how ‘craft entrepreneurs’ are positioned, accommodated and enabled to produce their goods” with the focus being on indigenous art and craft. Mr. Bartlett said the design process for the villages had started and funding identified.

With the Ministry of Tourism, through its agencies, allocating such large sums to the infrastructural development of Ocho Rios, he made an appeal to the people of the resort town to shoulder some responsibility for its sustainable development and for them to be more proactive in this process.

“We are holding all the agencies accountable but who is holding the town accountable for keeping these things in pristine condition after we have delivered it to them?” asked Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

He was responding to questions raised by some stakeholders who felt enough was not being done to sustain the image of the town as a major tourist resort. Their concerns were presented to Minister Bartlett and his colleague Minister of Labour and Social Security Hon. Shahine Robinson.

However in underscoring the need for stewardship, Minister Bartlett said the people of the town also needed to be held accountable “because putting more and more money into the town only to come back and to be told that this is to be done and that is to be done again is a waste of time and money.”

On a broader level, Minister Bartlett also said, TPDCo was being repositioned and “the review of the Tourist Board Act had been completed which will allow for a stronger sense of quality control and licensing to enable greater responsibility, not just from our side but from your side as stakeholders.”