Kingston, Jamaica: December 7, 2012 – As Jamaica gears up for the start of the upcoming winter tourist season on December 15, the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment and its agencies will be seeking to highlight the contribution of the sector and the role it plays in the economic development of the country, during Tourism Awareness Week (TAW), which will be observed from December 9 – 15.

This year the week will be observed under the theme: “Tourism for All: All for Tourism.” In this regard several activities have been planned across the island to increase awareness about tourism. The goal is to highlight the benefits of the industry for the entire nation, and garner the full support of all Jamaicans for tourism.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, says, “this week is one of the most important periods observed on the local tourism calendar as it focuses on the Jamaican people and the important role that they must play in fostering the growth and development of the tourism sector.” He added that “we look forward to the observation of the week and expect to achieve our intended goal of building awareness about this all-important sector.”

The week’s activities commence with a Thanksgiving Service in Falmouth at the Trelawny Parish Church of St. Peter the Apostle on December 9. On Thursday December 13, Minister McNeill and tourism officials will meet with staff and officials of the Norman Manley International Airport and the Airports Authority of Jamaica to express appreciation for the significant contribution they have made to enhancing the experience of visitors to the island.

In keeping with this year’s theme of promoting all-inclusiveness in our approach to tourism, the media will play a major role and as such, a media tour has been organized for Friday, December 14. This is aimed at having members of the media fraternity experience firsthand the tourism product, and will entail a trip to key attractions in the ‘Garden Parish’ of St. Ann.

The week of activities will culminate with the official start of the Winter Tourist Season on December 15. A brief commemoration ceremony has been planned to celebrate the arrival of the first passenger for the season at the Sangster International Airport, in Montego Bay. Minister McNeill, accompanied by the Director of Tourism, John Lynch and other tourism officials are slated to be on hand to greet the passenger. The Minister and tourism officials will also meet with staff and officials of the airport and the Airports Authority of Jamaica to express appreciation for their contribution to the sector.

Kingston, Jamaica: December 12, 2012 – Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill has announced that a Hub is to be formed within his Ministry to drive the process of establishing linkages between the tourism and other industries forward. Explaining further he said, “this Hub would be what would gather data and disseminate information, and would work with input and representation from the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) and JAMPRO”.

The Minister was speaking at a tourism linkages meeting with senior players within the tourism and manufacturing sectors. Held at the Terra Nova Hotel yesterday, December 11, 2012, the meeting was hosted by the Minister, and is a part of his Ministry’s continuing efforts to create linkages between the tourism industry and certain key industries within the island, prime among them the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The minister was keen to emphasize that bringing in visitors to Jamaica is not tourism’s only objective, but importantly, “we must earn more and retain more of what is earned within the Jamaican economy. It is therefore imperative that we get more value and increase the linkages between sectors. ”

Major players, representing a wide cross section of the various elements of the two sectors, turned out in their numbers to participate. President of the JHTA, Evelyn Smith who gave a broad overview of the expectations of her industry players said, “our members want to be accessed by all those who have products and services to offer us so it is important that avenues be found to increase communication between our sectors and to offer more access points to interact.” She urged the consideration of, among other things, an e-commerce platform which would allow for easier access to finding local suppliers.

With respect to moving forward, Chairman of the Tourism Economic Linkages Committee, Don Wehby told the group that he expected that within a few weeks a consensus should be reached on some of the issues discussed and the courses of action required, stressing, “I believe that this process can work to the benefit of us all.” Minister McNeill in wrapping up the meeting, said the meeting had achieved more than what was expected and “I am really happy that that the relationship between the sectors have taken on a whole other tone.”

Tourism linkages meetings have also taken place between the tourism and agriculture sectors.

The first staging of ‘Arts in the Park,’ an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment as part of its effort to develop the entertainment sector, is being heralded as a major success. The inaugural event was held at Hope Botanical Gardens in Kingston on February 24, 2013, and provided a total cultural immersion into the visual and performing arts for both locals and visitors alike. This, with a reggae show billed in its entirety with new and emerging talent, coupled with a village for local artists to showcase their paintings, craft items and other forms of art.

Free to the public, the timing of its introduction was to facilitate its inclusion in the Reggae Month festivities. The event was also staged as part of an ongoing initiative to reposition Kingston as the ‘Entertainment Mecca’ of the Caribbean. Among the performers were several bands including Nomaddz, Pentateuch, Ska Rebirth, C-Sharp as well as Chronixx and Zinc Fence.

State Minister for Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Damion Crawford under whose portfolio the initiative falls, says “the execution of the show was good and I am very pleased that it has materialized after many months of consultation and planning. Similar events are slated to be held in other resort areas in the coming months so we are seeking to use this as a template to energize the entertainment sector and provide well needed exposure to local performers and artists.”

‘Arts in the Park’ was conceived to increase the quality of entertainment offerings locally, while providing opportunities for international booking and talent scouts to sign local acts and experience the ‘best of Jamaica.’ The initiative provides business networking opportunities for local bands with international agents from companies such as Warner Brothers/Atlantic Records, Sony/ATV Music, Blaze the Stage, St. Kitts Music Festival, and Roc Nation.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill noted that “the feedback from agents who attended the first event has been positive and many of them are totally blown away. They have seen our artistes and they are saying that this is fabulous. I believe that the initiative will prove to be an excellent platform for the exposure of new and emerging talent.”

Underscoring the Minister’s belief, Omar Grant, Director of A&R at Roc Nation said “if we do more of this, giving a greater awareness of reggae music and more acceptance, it will actually cause a breakthrough and take it to another level, and more people in the US and in other countries would pay greater attention to reggae music and appreciate it more.”  

The ‘Arts in the Park’ initiative was developed through a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, the Entertainment Advisory Board, the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the Jamaica Tourist Board and entertainment stakeholders.

Fifteen vehicles were today presented to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to enhance crime-fighting efforts in tourist resort areas in the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland and St. Mary.  Acquired at a cost of $28.2 million, the presentation of the Toyota Corolla motor cars took place during a handing-over ceremony held at the office of the Commissioner of Police in Kingston.

Today’s donation is the latest move in TEF’s ongoing initiative to bolster the resources of the JCF. In May 2012 it presented 16 Sports Utility Vehicles to that body for use in tourist resort areas at a cost of approximately $32 million. In addition the Montego Hills Police Station in St. James has been refurbished at a cost of $6 million. Motorcycles have also been provided for the Montego Bay resort area through a collaborative effort with the St. James Police-Citizens Action Committee to the tune of $1.5 million to enhance the efforts of the traffic police in monitoring and enforcing traffic laws along the Elegant Corridor. Additionally there is an on-going project to repair two non-functional marine police vessels. This project is being undertaken at a cost of $1 million.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, under whose Ministry TEF falls, said “the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment through TEF, is pleased to partner with the Ministry of National Security and the JCF to reduce crime in the tourist resort areas and by extension Jamaica, through these initiatives.”

With respect to the national crime-fighting efforts, Minister McNeill used the opportunity to congratulate the Ministry of National Security and the JCF for the “fine results we have been seeing in recent years and in particular the past year, in reducing the crime rate.” He emphasized that “this is not only being done to safeguard our visitors, but our Jamaican citizens as well.”

mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">In thanking the Tourism and Entertainment Minister for the donation, Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, said he is confident that Minister McNeill will be a consistent advocate to continue the investment in Jamaica’s national security and in a safe and secure environment for both tourists and all Jamaicans who live, work, do business and raise families.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill has explained that the tourism sector is in a state of transition, in response to changes in the industry and the economic conditions in the island’s main source markets. The Minister made this pronouncement as he addressed sector interests at the Commissioning Ceremony for the new Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) sponsored Hyperbaric Chamber at the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory in St. Ann.

Minister McNeill said “we have been experiencing a transition in our industry that, coupled with the persisting global economic conditions in markets such as the US, North America and the UK, has substantially affected our industry performance.”

Dr. McNeill emphasized that “the UK has been struggling through a triple dip recession.  This has had significant negative impact on a major international travel agency brand, Thomas Cook. That company owns Sunquest, a tour operator that operates the Thomas Cook air charter service on which Jamaica has relied greatly for airlift out of Canada.” He added that “Thomas Cook’s internal problems have led to a realignment of its business, which included disbanding the airline in Canada. This, in addition to difficulties being experienced by Transat Canada, has resulted in a shortfall of over 20,000 seats to Jamaica.”

Minister McNeill outlined that there has been significant dislocation and transition on the local scene as well. He explained that “one of our local stalwart brands has been releasing its major properties, while other established brands continue to join our industry: Blue Diamond Resorts has taken over the Trelawny Beach Hotel, in which 349 rooms have been off the market that would have normally been used by Canadian visitors.” Additionally Melia Hotels has taken over the Braco Village, Karisma Resorts has taken over the Poinciana property in Negril and RIU Resorts has 250 upscale rooms under construction in Montego Bay.

The Minister was quick to note that the prospects for the sector remain bright as steps have been taken to ensure its continued development. He said “our tourism sector is still vibrant and as we go through these transitions, we expect to see strong investment commitment resulting in increased room stock, further bolstering the product.”

He explained that “having started with two flights per week, Copa Airlines will be doubling their weekly flights to Jamaica this summer, with four flights to Kingston and four to Montego Bay, as we witness the relaxation of the visa regime taking effect.” The Minister said this will provide great opportunity for Jamaica in Latin-America. The Eastern European markets are showing great potential, with Russia in particular starting to produce good numbers.” This comes on the heels of the recently announced Cabinet decision to approve the waiving of visa requirements for nationals of Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Ukraine in a bid to open these markets.

Minister McNeill was quick to note that “the UK market will show improvements this summer as Virgin Atlantic increases to three weekly flights into Montego Bay, up from two for last summer.”

The capacity of local health officials to treat divers with complications such as decompression illness has received a major boost with the commissioning of a new Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) sponsored Hyperbaric Chamber. The chamber, which has been installed at the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, St. Ann, was acquired through the collaborative effort of the TEF and the University of the West Indies, UWI.

The chamber was officially commissioned on March 13, 2013 at a ceremony organized by the UWI Centre for Marine Sciences which administers the Marine Laboratory. In September 2010, the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the UWI partnered to replace the Hyperbaric Chamber at the Discovery Bay facility. TEF contributed 30% of the funds required to purchase the chamber as the latest move in its ongoing initiative to fund projects that seek to promote and maintain the continued development of the tourism sector.

Speaking at the ceremony Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, said “the Ministry is delighted to be a partner in this acquisition, through the initiative of the Tourism Enhancement Fund to provide part funding for the purchase of this essential piece of equipment.”  This was made possible through grant funding by TEF of €100,000 which was extended to the UWI Centre for Marine Sciences to facilitate the design, construction, acquisition and commissioning of a new, first-world rated hyperbaric treatment facility. 

Dr. McNeill emphasized that “the chamber is a substantial investment in our drive towards promoting dive tourism. The TEF will continue to partner in supporting programmes and projects such as this new hyperbaric facility as we look to expand our tourism product offering and diversify our markets.”

Executive Director of the TEF, Clyde Harrison said “I am particularly pleased in knowing that the TEF has been able to contribute to the installation and commissioning of this well needed hyperbaric chamber. We are confident that this new chamber will make destination Jamaica even more appealing to divers.”

In thanking the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment and the TEF for the contribution, Principal of UWI Mona, Professor Gordon Shirley outlined that “after the previous chamber fell into disrepair it became clear that it would have to be replaced speedily as persons frequently turned up with diving complications and needed treatment. Hence UWI is pleased to be associated with the acquisition of this Hyperbaric Chamber.”