Kingston, Jamaica: July 29, 2014 - Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, is scheduled to participate in several activities aimed at marketing destination Jamaica during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 3, 2014.

Minister McNeill is currently in Trinidad where he represented Jamaica at the first Japan/CARICOM Summit, which took place on Monday, July 28. He will depart Trinidad for Glasgow this afternoon (July 29).

While in Glasgow, Minister McNeill will attend a host of Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) promotional events, which are intended to promote the destination and further strengthen the close links between Scotland and Jamaica. These include two exclusive media and travel-trade client receptions and a meeting with executives from TUI Travel PLC.

The JTB has again activated the Jamaica House concept for this year's Commonwealth Games.  Jamaica House Glasgow is being hosted in Royal Exchange Square in the heart of Glasgow, and seeks to leverage the anticipated global focus on the Jamaica track and field team at this major sporting event. 

Modelled on Jamaica House, London 2012 and Jamaica House, Moscow 2013, activities for the Commonwealth Games will seek to present an alluring ‘snapshot’ of Jamaican culture, food and music, highlighting the destination both as a place to visit as well as to do business.

Tour operators Tui Travel and Virgin Holidays both credit meetings at Jamaica House at the London 2012 Olympics with their decision to increase service and investment in Jamaica.

Minister McNeill, who is being accompanied by the newly appointed Director of Tourism, Mr. Paul Pennicooke, returns to the island on Monday, August 4, 2014.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, July 23, 2014: A DNA test for her job as CNN anchor has led Michaela Pereira of Canada to Cambridge in St. James, Jamaica to unearth her genealogical roots.

“I was adopted as an infant in Canada and I always knew that one part of my heritage came from Jamaica,” she related. But she was unsure of how the connection came about. “I didn’t know if one of my parents was Canadian-Jamaica or Jamaican-Jamaica,” she said.

Now living in New York, USA, and working with CNN, she needed to do a DNA test for her job and an idea emerged. “We decided to tell the story of each of our anchors that present on air and we discovered that my roots on my paternal side came from Jamaica, but specifically from Cambridge, St. James.”

With the curiosity of Alex Haley (author of the book ‘Roots’), Mrs. Pereira decided she wanted “to connect with my roots.” That decision led her to Jamaica, supported by her husband and a film crew, and a journey to Cambridge in south St. James. She said her visit was aimed at “really looking to connect with my ancestors, place and time and contacts.”

Mrs. Pereira and her film crew did not find anyone alive who could be identified as a direct family member, but she did find some graves that offered a link with her past and she has “learnt so many interesting facts” about Jamaica.

Prior to her departure, Mrs. Pereira paid a courtesy call on Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, on Saturday (July 19), at the Half Moon, A Rock Resort, and was presented with a hardbound copy of the book, “Jamaica Heritage in Pictures” produced by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and which captures captivating images of Jamaica.

 “This is my first visit to Jamaica, and I’m ashamed to say that,” she admitted, but hastened to add, “I’m here now and I can come back as many times as I want.”

Mrs. Pereira ended her four-day visit on Sunday having learned many things and praising the Jamaican people. “First of all, the thing that has struck me the most, everyone without fail; rich, poor; black, white; young old, have said welcome home and it makes me cry.

“The second thing I have learned is how beautiful and warm and welcoming Jamaicans are. Everywhere I’ve gone they greet you with a smile and a hug – and not just me, there are five people travelling with me and they welcomed everybody as if they were a member of the family. We leave with new friends,” she said beaming.

So overwhelming has been the welcome she received, Mrs. Pereira said, “I don’t feel like someone who came to visit Jamaica; I feel like Jamaican emphatically.”

Minister McNeill said “I found Mrs. Pereira’s visit very interesting and was pleased that she regarded what she has found to be so amazing. We welcome her home to Jamaica with open arms.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica: Friday, July 20, 2014: Montego Bay’s Elegant Corridor is slated to be brightly lit at nights before the middle of next year, following the signing of a contract for a $248 million lighting project financed by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Combined with more than $4.5 million already spent on a palm tree maintenance programme for that stretch of the North Coast Highway, which runs from the Sangster International Airport round-about to Iberostar Hotel in Lilliput, this is the largest investment by the TEF in any single project in the Montego Bay area.

The contract for the lighting project, which has been awarded to Y.P. Seaton & Associates, was signed at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Friday, July 18, 2014. Participants in the signing ceremony included Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, and Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Dr. the Hon. Omar Davies.

Among the signatories were Executive Director of the TEF, Clyde Harrison and Director of Y.P. Seaton, Calvert Mundle.

Minister McNeill thanked the TEF for “the tremendous job” it has been doing and the “significant expenditure that is going into the infrastructure of the city.”

Minister McNeill underscored that, “many of these projects that we’re doing here, whether it is the cultural centre or the lighting of the Elegant Corridor, we’re doing these things as projects for Jamaicans – they benefit us first – and our visitors who come will also benefit from them.” He added that “it is important that we understand that tourism generates the funds, through the TEF, to undertake these projects which benefit us as Jamaicans.”

The TEF is funded by a fee paid by visitors traveling to Jamaica via airline and cruise ship

Minister Davies welcomed the funding support provided by the TEF for the project. He noted that “over time, this stretch of road has become a safety concern for pedestrians and motorists alike due to speeding along the corridor and the absence of street lights to improve night time visibility.”

The use of solar lights was being considered as an option but Dr. Davies disclosed that no bids were received based on the use of that energy source. LED lamps will be used instead and assurance has been given that for the eight-month duration of the contract, the flow of traffic along the 17 km (10.5 miles) corridor will not be affected and there should be minimal damage to the road surface.

The National Works Agency (NWA) will be monitoring the execution of the contract and consideration has been given to implementing it in phases so that users of the highway will not have to await its completion to start benefiting from the lights.

It was also noted that, soil tests were conducted earlier this year by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries along the entire length of the Elegant Corridor to determine the reason why palm trees in the area were dying, as well as to determine the best recommendation for the treatment of the soil where the palms are planted.

Subsequently, 60 additional palms have been replaced and are being maintained.

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, Thursday, July 17, 2014: The variety and vibrancy of Jamaica’s cultural expressions are being packaged to promote the destination to worldwide tourism markets as the land of not merely sun, sea, and sand but excellent entertainment.

The innovative summer entertainment programme branded as “Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways” was launched at the picturesque Sandals Royal Caribbean Island in Montego Bay yesterday (July 16) by the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, and endorsed by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

Minister of State in the ministry, the Hon. Damion Crawford, said, “entertainment is the aspect of culture that is capable of being sold and we have a culture that is so dominant in so many aspects.” He said the tagline for ‘Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways’ reflected the fact that “Jamaica offers a multiplicity of ways to enjoy the country”. The concept, therefore, is to use entertainment to attract visitors to the island between May 15 and August 15 each year to address the traditional dip in arrivals between the winter and fall seasons.

Minister Crawford said Jamrock Summer will capitalize on all genres of Jamaican cultural expression – ‘90 Days, 90 Ways’ includes parties, music, sports, culinary, literary arts and other events to entice everyone to experience the country in a special way. That is, 90 ways over 90 days, segmented into nine 10-day series of events. These will leverage Jamaica’s entertainment offering and complement existing events such as Sumfest to offer added value.

Minister Crawford also pointed out that “at the macro-level entertainment is an industry with many linkages,” adding that, “if we can have Jamrock Summer drawing 20,000 people in the next five years many other areas of the economy would benefit and develop.” He noted, however, that while government will facilitate the promotion, it was expected that the private sector would play its role as promoter.

He explained that although the initiative will include various types of music festivals, culinary, sports, fashion and other cultural offerings, reggae would be a central cog around which Jamrock Summer is built.

With the worldwide acceptance of Jamaica’s music from ska through reggae and dance hall, Minister Crawford said the success of “Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways” would also offer the added advantage of underscoring the fact that Jamaica is the home of reggae, despite attempts by other countries to present it as if it is their own. “We want to have the largest reggae show; our largest reggae show is ranked 19^th in the world. You can’t be the home of reggae and be ranked 19^th. We’re also seeking to protect the name reggae and we’ll be giving a stamp for authentic reggae.”

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill also expressed his full support for “Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways”.  He stated, “for years people have seen Jamaica as a place that you can escape to during the winter; now we are providing the ideal destination where you can go and enjoy the summer in a myriad of ways. This initiative forms part of our ongoing effort to provide more unique and exciting things for our visitors to do and to give them a more authentic Jamaican experience.”

He commended Minister Crawford, Chairman of the Entertainment Advisory Board, Kingsley Cooper, and his team for creating the concept, and lauded the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board.

President of the JHTA, Nicola Madden-Greig, said, “it’s something that we are all passionate about” and her association saw it as “an absolutely positive thing for Jamaica.  All the JHTA’s resort areas are very excited (and) we will be working with promoters in different areas to make sure that we help to market the initiative.” She also anticipates that association members will put together “really good rates so that persons can take advantage of all the activities that will be offered.”

To maximize exposure and reach “Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways” will be supported by a social and traditional media network promotion, including an interactive website.

Kingston, Jamaica: July 17, 2014 – Effective Friday July 18, 2014 the operation of private Personal Water Crafts (PWCs) will be re-opened across the island for licensed PWC users. This after an island-wide ban was imposed in February to allow for the regularization of the commercial operations; and for steps to be taken by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) to register all PWCs or jet-skis in the island.

The general ban was among a raft of measures announced to streamline both private and commercial PWC operations. The measures were applied in the wake of three accidents involving PWCs between August 2013 and January 2014. In announcing the ban in Parliament in February, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill had indicated that the suspension of the operations will be lifted in each area as the relevant measures and regulations are implemented and persons become compliant.

Over the last few months the MAJ has spearheaded a process to register all PWCs islandwide.To date, 90 private and 29 commercial vessels have been registered.

A Task Force was established as one of the measures to bring PWC activity under stronger management and enforcement. The PWC Task Force is being guided by the MAJ and  the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), with enforcement by the Marine Police Division.

The announcement to reopen the operation of private PWCs was made following a recent meeting of the task force. The move follows the recent reopening of the operation of commercial PWCs at the UDC beach in Ocho Rios Bay, St. Ann on June 2, 2014. However the ban on the importation of PWCs will remain in place until further notice.

Minister McNeill said “guided by the recommendation of the Task Force, it was determined that the suspension of private PWC operations  for licensed PWC users should now be lifted, as adequate measures and regulations have been put in place.” He added that “the owners and operators of private and commercial launch sites will be required to inform the MAJ of these sites to facilitate the effective monitoring of the activities across the island.”

A launch site refers to an area on the foreshore (a channel between 20 and 40 metres wide) through which PWCs are permitted to leave and return.  PWCs will be launched from such sites in accordance with specific guidelines and recommendations which include - the existence of a ramp or other suitable area for the safe launching of the PWC and erection of prescribed signage.

Launch sites will not be established in close proximity to high risk areas such as places where members of the public customarily swim. These include the Blue Lagoon (Portland), licensed beaches, public bathing beaches including in Negril, Montego Bay and Hellshire Beach, where PWC operations will be prohibited.

The Minister explained that “private PWC operation will also be allowed at Lime Cay and Maiden Cay, where temporary measures will be put in place to facilitate PWC activity, while some remaining concerns including issues related to launch sites are addressed.”

Upon registration, PWC operators are issued with registration certificates and decals which have been provided in two colour codes, to differentiate between private and commercial crafts.

Private PWC use will be allowed under the following conditions:

1. PWCs must be registered and have the appropriate decals affixed (PWCs not possessing private decals will be liable for detention by the authorities)
2. PWCs that are registered for private use cannot be utilized commercially
3. All operators of PWCs must have received training in the operation of the vessel from the MAJ
4. PWC’s must be issued with valid small vessel safety certificates which will reflect the following:

• PWCs are permitted to operate in daylight hours only and shall not be operable between sunset and sunrise
• PWCs should enter and leave the shore at a slow speed of 3 knots
• Occupants of PWCs must wear life vests at all times and the area of operation is at least 200m from the shore.

5. PWCs must not be refueled at sea
6. PWCs must observe the collision (at sea) regulations

Minister McNeill also indicated that steps are being taken to facilitate the reopening of PWC operations in other areas including Negril, adding that as the task force moves ahead to regularize operations in these areas, consultations will be held with the relevant stakeholders including a meeting which will be held in Negril next week.