Kingston, Jamaica: October 14, 2015 – Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has extended congratulations to Jamaican author Marlon James on winning Britain’s most prestigious literary award, the Man Booker prize for his novel – “A Brief History of Seven Killings”.

“The creative and performing arts and popular culture are an integral aspect of the Jamaican ethos.   Our achievers on the international stage and gifted individuals like Mr. James help define us as a people and burnish our reputation worldwide as a very special place with unique attributes,” said Minister McNeill.

“The Entertainment Division of our Ministry is always focused on the promotion and support for the creative arts as a legitimate area for national development as well as its economic potential,” Minister McNeill said, adding that “the Literary Arts sub-committee of the Entertainment Advisory Board (EAB) is evidence of the Ministry’s commitment to promote and nourish our creative and performing artists.”

The Ministry’s activities include the Arts in the Park initiative which seeks to increase the quality of local entertainment offerings. This provides international booking agents and talent scouts with opportunities to sign local acts.  Another project is the move to establish entertainment zones island-wide, which seeks to address the problem of noise disturbances caused by entertainment events held in and around residential areas.  Historically, events and concerts by local promoters and artistes have nurtured local talent and provided them with income.  The appointment of a Poet Laureate was also initiated by the EAB’s Arts sub-committee and has exposed Jamaican culture to a wider audience.

Chairman of the EAB’s Literary Arts sub-committee, Justine Henzel, added her congratulations to Mr. James, stating, “The Jamaica Tourist Board has sponsored the Calabash International Literary Festival since its inception in 2001 as it recognizes not only that the festival attracts visitors to Jamaica but that it also acts as an incredibly important developmental tool for the literary arts in the island. Calabash has given Jamaican writers access to a wide array of authors and poets from all over the world who are at the pinnacle of the craft while simultaneously allowing space for emerging writers to have an audience through the Open Mic segment of the Festival.”

Ms. Henzel pointed out that the Calabash Trust also hosts fiction and poetry workshops and most recently in 2015 a screenwriters workshop.  At the initial Calabash Writers Workshop Marlon James was encouraged to dig up a discarded manuscript which became his first novel John Crows Devil. In 2005 John Crows Devil was published by another sponsor of Calabash, the New York based publisher Akashic Books. 

Other Jamaican authors and poets who have achieved great international acclaim such as Kei Miller, Claudia Rankine, Dionne Brand and Elizabeth Alexander have all graced the Calabash stage and continue to make Jamaica proud. 

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Wednesday, September 23, 2015: Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has underscored the need for more local manufacturers and producers of goods and services to become competitive and benefit from the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Hub programme.

“They have to get to a certain level where they are competitive in price and quantity and they can deliver on time,” said Minister McNeill.

He was responding to questions from local and foreign journalists at a media breakfast hosted on September 21 by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Montego Bay, as part of the 25^th staging of the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) travel trade fair.

Citing major developments now taking place in the tourism industry, including some 5000 new rooms slated to come on stream in the next couple of years, Minister McNeill said “What we’re seeking to do, as much as possible, is to ensure that the expansion in the sector has a positive effect on the economy of Jamaica so that tourism can truly serve as a social and economic tool for growth.”

He said the Linkages Hub was among a number of initiatives to achieve this goal. Another was the development of community tourism “to get more visitors going out into the communities so that tourism has a greater impact throughout Jamaica.”

A major aim of the linkages programme, he said, was to create the climate in which “the things that are consumed in the hotels, from the food that’s eaten to anything that’s manufactured – the curtains, beds – anything at all, that we want to see our manufacturing sector involved.”

Noting that the programme was working, Minister McNeill pointed to the expanding range of producers and service providers on show at JAPEX over the last two years. At the outset a few years ago there were only manufacturers and members of the agricultural sector present.

Stressing that the initiative which was started some two years ago, “has been successful,” the Tourism and Entertainment Minister said, “when you go to JAPEX now you are seeing your normal suppliers and providers but you’re also going to see a whole group of persons that provide for the hotels and attractions sector, manufacturers and the agricultural sector as well.”

This year, over one hundred local manufacturers and service providers participated in JAPEX as exhibitors and in the latest Tourism Linkages Hub speed networking event.

Another positive outcome of the programme, he said, was that a lot of local manufacturers and producers had been expanding into the Caribbean.

“A third phase has now come on stream that’s very promising,” he said.  “Persons are now coming to Jamaica, seeing the things that are made here and are contacting our manufacturers and agricultural sector partners to see how they can get in touch with producers of these products and you’re now opening up an export market.”

Minister McNeill said he was pleased with the programme so far and was confident that the tourism sector was performing well “and also working to pull the rest of the economy along.” 

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Sunday, September 21, 2015: Boosted by a 3.1 percent increase in arrivals between January and June 2015 over the corresponding period last year, both public and private sector leaders are upbeat over the continued growth in tourism.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has said, “This year we’ve had a very good year; our occupancies are up and we had an excellent winter.” The summer has also “been good” with growth over last year even though there was a decrease in accommodation, and indications for the 2015/16 high season is that “we are set to have a very good winter season,” he added.

The Tourism and Entertainment Minister and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President, Nicola Madden-Greig, painted a positive picture of the tourism industry at last night’s opening of the 25^th annual Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) marketing showcase at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Dr. McNeill said the continued increase in arrivals showed the extent to which Jamaica was attractive as a tourist destination.

In his opening address, Dr. McNeill remarked that with the success of the tourism sector, marked by the fact that it was doing extremely well and recording growth every year, growth had also returned to the main markets of the United Kingdom and the United States even as new markets are being opened each year.

He noted that the growth was also being reflected in increases in cruise arrivals and air travel with Sangster International Airport “bursting at the seams” last winter. “We already have flights from Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden and next year we will see the first direct flight from Dublin, Ireland to Montego Bay,” he said.

Minister McNeill noted that the shortfall in rooms created by the high demand for Jamaica was being addressed through high investment in the sector, including 1,600 new rooms being constructed and properties being refurbished to be ready for the winter tourist season.

“Jamaica is evolving. We’re seeing investment in our product and taking it up into exciting realms.  This means that our accommodations are now on the cutting edge and are of a high standard capable of meeting the demand of the new and sophisticated market,” he said.

Dr. McNeill also reinforced his position that the industry was of critical importance to the country and its people as tourism remained a catalyst for economic growth. He was therefore pleased that the initiative of creating a Tourism Linkages Hub was very successful.

The Linkages Hub seeks to ensure that products and services which are utilized in the tourism sector are grown or manufactured in Jamaica. “The linkages programme is enjoying great success which we can attribute to the outstanding level of cooperation, collaboration and partnership between my ministry and the private sector,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Madden-Greig also declared, coming from more than 2 million stop over visitors and 1.26 million cruise ship passengers in 2014, “the outlook for 2015 continues to be promising and we’ve already seen a 3.1 percent increase between January and June for this year. And we think that the 2015/2016 winter season will be even more successful.”

She said the Caribbean landscape was changing and referred to the opening up of Cuba to the North American market, adding, “I personally believe that this is an opportunity to promote a new Caribbean.”

Mrs. Madden-Greig spoke of the opportunity of promoting twin destinations with Cuba and developing Caribbean cruise tourism taking in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cayman. She underscored however, that while pursuing partnership across the western Caribbean, it must be borne in mind that “Jamaica comes first.”

According to her, the 25^th JAPEX event was being hosted a time of “great optimism, change, positivity and innovation,” adding, it had assembled over 230 of the best in the local hospitality industry and attracted some 300 delegates representing the world’s major wholesale, retailers, travel agents and media from the USA, Australia, Colombia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, Trinidad, Mexico, Martinique, St Lucia, Peru, Switzerland, the UK and Brazil.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: December 9, 2015 – Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, left the island yesterday for Cancun, Mexico, where he will address international travel wholesalers and tour operators at a Karisma Hotels and Resorts’ marketing forum. Minister McNeill will give an update on Karisma’s projects in Jamaica.  

The December 10 event is one of the main activities on the agenda for Karisma’s 8^th Annual Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultant (GIVC) Awards and Sales & Marketing Forum.  The GIVC Awards honour the industry’s top performing travel professionals from the United States and Canada.  It takes place December 9 to 12, 2015, at the El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort, by Karisma. 

Karisma operates the 138-suite Azul Sensatori Jamaica in Negril and construction is currently underway for a neighbouring hotel – Azul Seven – which represents 149 rooms and an investment of US$45 million.

In October Karisma announced a US$900 million project in Llandovery, St. Ann, which will see nine hotels comprising 4,000 new rooms being built over the next decade. The hotels will include several brands with the first to debut in 2017-2018. Karisma brands include Azul, El Dorado, Allure, Adriatic Beach and Generation Villas.

Minister McNeill will be joined by Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook. He returns to the island on Friday, December 11, 2015.

Kingston, Jamaica: December 23, 2015 – Eight days into the start of the 2015/16 Winter Tourist Season, the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay was buzzing with activity as it marked another major milestone, having the largest number of airline passengers passing through it in any single day.

This as airport officials and other stakeholders witnessed the flow of some 14,000 passengers through check-in, Immigration and Customs yesterday (December 22), within a very short timeframe and without any delays.

On hand to witness the historic occasion were Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Chairman, Dennis Morrison; Executive Director of the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Jennifer McDonald; President of Airports Authority of Jamaica, Audley Dietrich, led by Chief Executive Officer of MBJ Airports, operators of Sangster International, Dr. Rafael Echevarne.

Dr. Echevarne confirmed that the 14,000 passengers and 55 flights for the day “is an absolute record.” The flights included ten long haul runs, four coming from Germany and six from the United Kingdom.

He said MBJ Airports had been working very hard to see that operations ran smoothly and from all indications, “we’ve managed to do that.” To aid the process, an additional security lane was introduced with additional metal detectors to ensure security was not compromised.

There was also an increase in the number of Customer Agents identified in special uniforms that invited passengers with queries to “Ask Me”. The gold coloured polo shirts were also branded with the MBJ logo and the JTB’s marketing tagline, “Jamaica. Home of All Right.” Additionally, passengers were treated to Jamaican made ice cream, coconut water and juices as they made their way in continuously flowing lines. And on the outside, as they boarded buses that would take them to the three cruise ships in the Montego Bay Harbour, they were greeted on the inside by a two-man calypso band and on the outside by the popular sound of Reggae from Love Zone Band.

Mr. Morrison disclosed that Tuesday’s arrivals at the airport represented a 20 percent increase over the corresponding period last year. He attributed the increase to several things, notably marketing Jamaica as the destination of choice and working with various tour operators. “A particularly important factor in today’s visitor increase is the air-and-sea arrangement with Thomson in which the passengers arrive here to go on cruises; also, on the departure side you see people who arrived a couple weeks ago leaving.”

He was very pleased with what he had witnessed in the operations at all levels and commended the airport staff “for doing a really efficient job in extending courtesy to the passengers and assisting them in many ways.”

Mrs. McDonald was also satisfied with the contribution her agency had made to ensure the smooth flow of passengers through the airport. The staff was boosted with 39 officers being recruited island-wide and 23 assigned to Montego Bay, after graduating a week ago. Additionally, five persons were brought in from Kingston for the day and more immigration assistants employed to walk the floor and help passengers.

Also, a year ago PICA installed 10 immigration kiosks at the airport with funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). The kiosks enable electronic processing of immigration documents. “We have overall 18 percent of passengers using kiosks and that is really quite good,” said Mrs. McDonald. She said even the suppliers were surprised “at such a high uptake of the service especially here in Montego Bay.”

She disclosed that dialogue is now underway with TEF to have additional kiosks installed.

Kingston, Jamaica: February 15, 2016 – Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, is extending congratulations to Morgan Heritage for winning the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, for Strictly Roots at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards today.   The album topped the Billboard’s Reggae Album Chart in May 2015.

Strictly Roots is the group’s 10^th studio album and was produced by their own ‘Cool To Be Conscious’ label. It was listed among the 10 Best Reggae Albums of 2015 by Billboard.com who also shared that the family's steadfast devotion to classic reggae is winning new admirers.

“I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Morgan Heritage on an award well deserved. They have certainly made Jamaica proud through the extraordinary music they have produced over the years. This very prestigious award is not only a win for the group but also a win for all Jamaicans” he said. “Reggae remains one of Jamaica’s strongest brands and performers, like Morgan Heritage, who have taken it to the world stage, are global ambassadors of Brand Jamaica," Minister McNeill added.

The announcement of the award was made earlier today during the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, at Staples Center, Los Angeles in the United States.

Though Morgan Heritage were the victors at this year’s staging, the Minister also congratulated the other nominees who also produces exceptional albums. The four other albums which vied for the award this year, included – Branches of The Same Tree by Rocky Dawuni, Acousticalevy by Barrington Levy, Zion Awake by Luciano and The Cure by Jah Cure.

TREASURE BEACH, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, February 15, 2016:  The area of Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth has been earmarked as a pilot project in the drive to further develop community tourism across the island. In support of this programme, the community has received an injection of $48 million from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to help fund its development projects.

Stakeholders in Treasure Beach recently welcomed the announcement by Tourism and Entertainment Minister, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill that the area which is renowned for community tourism would be the first to benefit under a new initiative to assist community tourism enterprises. The programme forms part of efforts to implement the Community Tourism Policy recently tabled in Parliament.

The Minister stated that a total of $20 million of the total allocated is to be used as a revolving loan fund to assist smaller properties that are facing challenges to equip themselves in order to acquire operating licenses from the Jamaica Tourist Board which has specific standards for approved tourism entities.

Minister McNeill informed the Treasure Beach stakeholders that they would become eligible for various benefits as long as they were undertaking steps to become compliant with the revised Tourist Board Act.

He also disclosed that an additional $28 million had been granted by the TEF to improve road infrastructure in the community “because under the Tourism Linkages Initiative we want the farmers to also benefit from the growth in tourism. So by improving the roads they will be able to get their produce to purchasers in a timelier manner and the improved roads will benefit persons living in the area as well.”

Even with arrivals reaching a record 3.65 million in 2015, Minister McNeill declared, “to get the real benefit of tourism I want to see a thrust in Community Tourism because that opens up areas like this. Once we get the model right it will open up a wide cross section of Jamaica to community tourism.”

Having charged the ministry team to implement the policy, to loud applause from a gathering at the BREDS Foundation Sports Park, Minister McNeill announced to stakeholders, “we determined that given the nature of Treasure Beach and the fact that the people here have started a lot of work in community tourism and community development amongst yourselves, this was an ideal place to start.”

To get this going, attention is being given to formulating a Development Order to ensure that the character of the South Coast is protected.

Minister McNeill emphasized that “we want the benefits of tourism to spread across the length and breadth of Jamaica; we want to ensure that it’s not just those with big pockets but that Jamaicans at all levels can benefit.”

To this end, community tourism is seen as one of the avenues to making the industry more inclusive. Since last year the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) has been working with the Policy Division of the ministry to address the issues that arise. These include marketing and compliance with licensing regulations.

While recognizing the need to protect the industry, Dr. McNeill said there had to be realistic standards for small and large properties as “some of the things that are in place for large properties are not practical for smaller properties and we want to ensure that the smaller properties are able to benefit from tourism.” Attention is also being given to attractions.

The community tourism plans outlined for Treasure Beach were endorsed by a wide cross section of stakeholders, including Mayor of Black River, Councillor, Everton Fisher; Chairman of the South Coast Resort Board, Anthony Freckleton; founding chairman of BREDS Foundation and pioneer Treasure Beach hotelier, Jason Henzell.

Prior to the stakeholders meeting Dr. McNeill and senior executives who head key departments in the tourism ministry and its agencies were taken on a tour to sample what Treasure Beach has to offer and hear first hand from stakeholders. They were accompanied by tourism partners from the area including Mr. Henzell and Rebecca Miersma. The tour included visits to Ital Rest which is run by six Rastafarian brothers and their families, Seaweed Villa and the Treasure Beach Women’s Group Craft Shop, which provides a livelihood for some 80 craft traders.

NEGRIL, Jamaica: February 7, 2016: A social intervention pilot project for the parish of Westmoreland is to be rolled out over the next few weeks to help reduce criminal activity. This was disclosed by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, recently during a handing over ceremony for the refurbished Negril Police Station.

In his remarks, Dr. McNeill stated that the $20 million project is being funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and will consist of programmes in schools, including sports, intervention meetings, job training, mediation and community outreach. “The Ministry of National Security has put this forward and it is specific to Westmoreland as a pilot project,” Dr. McNeill said.

In delivering the keynote address at the handing over ceremony the Tourism Minister expressed satisfaction in the timely way in which the refurbishing of the station was executed, pointing out that it was on time and under budget. “Of the fifty million budgeted, under forty million was spent and this was due to the Project Management Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) providing additional skilled labour which resulted in this significant savings to the project,” said Dr. McNeill.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Rose members of the JCF provided services in the areas of electrical, plumbing, painting, carpentry, masonry, tiling, welding, landscaping and even the construction of an ID Parade room. A 304-foot perimeter fence was also installed.

Dr. McNeill said that the refurbishing of the Negril Police Station is a part of the strategic approach in the collaborative relationship between the Ministries of Tourism & Entertainment and National Security, noting that the half billion dollars set aside is a huge support. “Our support is in excess of half billion out of the Tourism Enhancement Fund and that is a lot of money in the budget of any ministry and certainly a major part of the budget of the TEF.”

The Ocho Rios Police Station has been refurbished and the Port Antonio Police Station is slated to be the next beneficiary under the TEF-funded programme.  

The Minister of National Security, Hon.  Peter Bunting; Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. George Quallo; President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Lee Issa; and Chairman of the Negril Resort Board, Mr. Cliff Reynolds, also participated in the official handing over of the police station.

Kingston, Jamaica: February 3, 2016: A newly released Tourism Demand Study, commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, has revealed that opportunities created by tourism for the trade of locally-made goods and services could be worth an estimated J$70 billion. Copies of the study were presented to media representatives at a press briefing held on February 2, 2016.  The briefing was hosted by Chairman of the Tourism Linkages Council, Donovan Perkins at Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited’s New Kingston offices.

The J$8.6million study states that though many hoteliers are being supplied by local businesses, many of them are importing goods that can be sourced locally.

It also indicates that the opportunity for trade could be as high as J$56.7 billion annually for processed foods, J$5.3 billion for fruits and J$1.6 billion for vegetables.  The estimated annual leakage in the manufacturing sector is J$65.4 billion, which is equivalent to 33% of the estimated total annual expenditure of businesses in the sector on manufactured goods.

Leakages in the agricultural sector are also estimated to be within the range of J$1.6 billion – J$5 billion, which is 8.5% - 25.5% of annual expenditure on agricultural products.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill explained that his ministry has identified the constraints faced by potential suppliers in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors to meet the demand of hoteliers. He explained that the Ministry will use the empirical data in the study to put plans in place to address the constraints so that the Jamaican economy can benefit more.

“The good news is that 70% of hotels indicated that they are spending less than 10% of food expenditures on imported agricultural products. So, it makes sense to target agriculture and manufacturing to reduce imports and increase the use of locally grown fruits and vegetables, locally produced goods and services. This is big money for Jamaica. We want to earn more and keep more earnings here,” said Minister McNeill.

Chairman of the Tourism Linkages Council stated that it is the hope of the Tourism Linkages Hub, that this demand study – which was conducted by the Centre for Leadership and Governance and funded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) – will provide empirical data required to create the framework for effective planning and identifying the demand for goods and services in the expanding local tourism industry. 

“An expanding tourism industry can and will benefit all of us in Jamaica. The tourism demand study has a wealth of information that will help guide businesses in where many opportunities lie within tourism,” said Perkins. 

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Nicola Madden-Greig shared that the study should also serve to encourage the tourism sector to view the local agriculture and manufacturing sectors as main providers of goods and services in areas with distinct competitive advantage.

“The Linkages initiative has broken down barriers that existed long ago and misunderstandings in terms of: What is the availability? What are the opportunities? How can I take advantage of them? So, I think that through the Tourism Linkages Hub and the Tourism Demand Study we have now opened the doors really wide for persons in the industry to look across the aisle to see what’s available locally,”  she stated.

The full findings of the Tourism Demand Study can be accessed on the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment’s website http://www.mot.gov.jm/

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: December 22, 2015 – As part of the preparations for this year’s Winter Tourist Season, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, yesterday met with senior diplomats from Jamaica’s main visitor source markets (United States, Canada and the United Kingdom). These three countries traditionally represent 90 percent of the island’s visitors.   Discussions centred on updated protocols regarding visitors who may get into distressed situations while visiting Jamaica. 

Addressing a breakfast meeting at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston, Minister McNeill told the gathering of diplomats as well as representatives of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), that the outlook for the Winter Tourist Season was very positive.  He once again reiterated that investment in the sector was at an all time high. “2015 will be another record-breaking year for arrivals and we are set, to once again, surpass the three-million mark for total visitors,” the Tourism Minister said.

Dr. McNeill said that as usual his ministry was working closely with the JTB, JHTA and the embassies to ensure all protocols were in place to lend assistance to visitors who may get into distressed situations while in Jamaica. “We are seeking to strengthen communication and have a vibrant working relationship with embassies and high commissions so we are all comfortable that the necessary safeguards are in place so that should an incident occur it is handled according to best practices,” said Minister McNeill.

The JTB’s Visitor Relations Department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment and the JHTA, has crafted fundamental guidelines for handling incidents involving foreign nationals who get into distressed situations, including deaths, hospitalization, destitution, accidents, and criminal activities.

These guidelines include ensuring that incidents that may have a negative impact on visitor experience are handled effectively, sensitively and in a timely manner; that accurate information is disseminated to relevant agencies and organizations as soon as possible; as well as safeguarding Jamaica’s image and that of the tourism industry.