MIAMI, Florida; June 14, 2023: As Jamaica’s tourism sector continues its robust recovery, the island has been dubbed the number one Caribbean destination for Delta Vacations in terms of growth. With over fifty years in business, Delta Vacations, a Delta Airlines company, is one of the largest vacations providers in the United States. Delta Airlines is a major airline out of the United States and is a legacy carrier.

The announcement, which follows the island’s double-digit growth in terms of demand and outpacing one of its major competitors, Mexico, was shared during a high-level meeting with Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett and Senior Executives of Delta Airlines at their headquarters in Atlanta yesterday (June 13).

“Jamaica’s tourism products and offerings continue to be top of mind for consumers of our major airline partners like Delta. Coming out of the pandemic, we have seen the demand for Jamaica grow as people search for the real and authentic experiences that we have to offer. It is truly gratifying to see that this growth is evident amongst our key tourism partners and will allow for further discussions for additional seats and routes,” said Minister Bartlett.

The meeting with Delta airlines Senior Executives, forms part of an overarching marketing blitz led by Minister Bartlett and his team, with a series of tourism engagements in the United States, the country’s largest source market.

Atlanta is one of the major cities from which Jamaica welcomes a large influx of American visitors. It also has a strong Diaspora that usually choose to return to Jamaica to vacation and spend in the destination. Data from Delta airlines has also indicted that seats to Jamaica are up ten percent for the upcoming summer, which will add to the very favourable projections as the best summer for the destination.

Mr. Bartlett and his team of senior tourism officials have also engaged with other critical stakeholders in New York and Miami to ensure the sector leverages the strong projections for summer.

“Our discussions also explored the possibility of multi destination experiences through Delta’s long-haul routes that coincide with our target for emerging markets like India and Africa. We are looking at visitors from countries opting to make Jamaica a destination spot through these routes,” said Minister Bartlett.

Kingston, Jamaica, Thursday, June 8, 2023: As Jamaica braces to experience its best summer tourist season ever, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett and a team of senior tourism officials have departed the island for the United States to engage with critical stakeholders in Jamaica’s largest visitor source market.

Minister Bartlett’s first stop will be in New York City where he will participate in the annual Caribbean Week celebrations organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). The signature event  provides a platform to showcase the Caribbean brand and provide updates and support to travel agents and media, promote thought leadership, and encourage networking within the tourism industry.

Over three days (June 5-8), the tourism minister will be involved in a series of activities which include the Council of Tourism Ministers Meeting, a meeting with JetBlue Vacations and JetBlue Airlines, an interview with Good Day New York, the CTO Tourism Industry Marketing Conference, the official signing of an agreement between the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and George Washington University and the CTO Media Marketplace. 

“We’re hitting the road to bolster arrivals from our biggest and best market, the United States. More than 74% of our visitors come from the U.S. and we don’t take that for granted. We’re determined to future-proof the sector this summer, and meeting with our American partners is crucial to realizing that objective,” stated Minister Bartlett.

Considering the recent travel advisory issued by the U.S. State Department, the tourism minister underscored that it is essential that American visitors are reminded of the “safe, secure and seamless” experience that a Jamaican vacation offers. With destination assurance central to the Ministry of Tourism’s policy direction, Minister Bartlett further noted that it is prudent for Jamaica’s presence to be felt in the American market at this time.

The tourism minister will briefly return to Jamaica before heading to Miami, Florida, where he will meet with key players in the cruise industry, including Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). Minister Bartlett and his team will also make a quick trip to Atlanta, Georgia, for meetings with Delta Vacations and Delta Airlines, one of America’s major legacy carriers.

Following his Atlanta visit, Minister Bartlett will return to Florida for the Miami World Travel Expo (WTE), where he will participate in a panel discussion followed by a meeting with executives from the Expedia Group, owners of more than 200 travel booking sites across 75 countries.

“New York, Miami and Atlanta are the cities from which we traditionally get a large influx of American visitors. These areas also have a high concentration of ‘Jamericans’ who often choose to return home and spend their tourism dollars during the summer season. We’ve strategically targeted these cities for maximum impact as we make sure tourism’s contribution to the Jamaican economy continues to grow,” Minister Bartlett added.

Montego Bay, Jamaica, Tuesday, June 6, 2023: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has invited the powerful Insurance Association of the Caribbean (IAC) to partner with tourism to build resilience to secure sustainable growth, particularly within the tourism and agricultural industries.

With Caribbean tourism set to earn an estimated US$50 billion by 2026, Minister Bartlett said about US$3.89 billion of that amount will go into travel insurance for the region.

He also noted that at the rate of growth envisaged for tourism, “we are going to be employing 1.34 million more workers across the region during that period, bringing the tourism workforce in the Caribbean region up to 2.3 million by 2026.”

Minister Bartlett’s address to the opening session of the 41^st Annual Caribbean Insurance Conference yesterday (June 5) at the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Montego Bay,  centred on the theme, “The Insurance Industry’s Role in the Pursuit for Sustainability.”

Noting that tourism and agriculture were the two sectors most vulnerable to climate action, he said, they were also characterized by having 67 percent of their workforce being at the lowest end of the employment stream “and therefore when disruptions hit, those workers are among the last to recover, if at all.”

In a challenge to the insurance sector, Minister Bartlett questioned, “How do we find a tool to offer that peace of mind to those workers who are so vulnerable and so ill-equipped and prepared?” He said borrowing was not the answer when they were already devastated “so we need to find a tool that says here is a relief, something that you can have while you get your act together.”

In that vein, he said he was prepared to emulate Jamaica’s Tourism Workers Pension Scheme, which involves two major insurance companies in Jamaica, as “it is my intention to drive this tourism workers pension plan across the Caribbean so that every single worker in tourism would become members of this pension plan and generate, perhaps, the largest pool of domestic savings possibly in the history of the Caribbean.”

Mr. Bartlett said he was prepared to sit with the insurance sector to devise a tool to give workers some peace of mind, being mindful that there would be more disasters, including hurricanes and floods, depriving people of their homes and farm plots.

“Let’s think of how we can do it. I have a Tourism Enhancement Fund and there’s the hotel associations; let’s have a meeting and sit down to work through it. You are the ones with the ideas so let’s think out of the box and find a tool that enables whether we’re going to bundle the workers together or we’re going to treat them as companies, or whatever, so as to make the rates affordable.”

He said he would be willing to contribute to ensure its affordability “to protect the workers of the two most vulnerable industries in the Caribbean, tourism and agriculture.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tuesday, June 5, 2023:  Another alliance is being forged between Jamaica and a key Caribbean tourism partner in a drive to develop a cooperative approach to air travel and grow regional tourism.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett today held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation for the Bahamas, Hon I. Chester Cooper in New York where they are participating in the annual Caribbean Week celebrations organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Announcing the agreement reached to pursue, Minister Bartlett said, “Jamaica and the Bahamas have entered into a new era of collaboration in consonance with the new tourism view of co-petition as the way forward, as opposed to competition.”

As a matter of policy, Jamaica has been spearheading an initiative of regional cooperation in the marketing of tourism with Minister Bartlett piloting the multi-destination strategy of promoting the Caribbean as one destination in which travellers have the option of experiencing two or more destinations on their travels.

Minister Bartlett explained that in the partnership with the Bahamas, “We’re looking at how we can collaborate in the area of air connectivity to begin with. We’re looking at how we can advance the hub and spoke principle and to bring more visitors into our space.”

Currently, Jamaica is engaged in multi-destination arrangements with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama and there have been discussions with the Cayman Islands to put a similar agreement in place.  Minister Bartlett said giving effect to this initiative will entail standardizing certain protocols such as having a common visa regime and clearance arrangements that will allow for visitors to the Bahamas and the other destinations to market together and bring more airlines into the region.

The proposed collaboration with the Bahamas also takes into consideration the matter of training and the resilience building, which, he said, “has generated a big discussion around the establishment of a satellite resilience centre in the Bahamas.”

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) was founded by Minister Bartlett, who is now its co-chair, with centres already established in three other countries (Jordan, Kenya and Canada) with others in the pipeline.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, June 4, 2023: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has identified sustainability of the national economy as key to his vision for tourism in the immediate future.

As a step in that direction, the Ministry of Tourism has embarked on the creation of a tourism strategy for Jamaica in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and stakeholders from a wide cross-section of industries and government agencies. The first in a series of strategy development workshops being staged in resort destinations was held on Friday (June 2) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James.

Mr. Bartlett related that his vision was “to make tourism inclusive and the driver of the economy of Jamaica, but most importantly, to make it the centre of community enrichment and human development.”

He stated that a key component of achieving this goal was to build the capacity against the demand that tourism brings and to strengthen the ability of Jamaicans to supply the services and goods needed.

“It calls for a shared commitment from each one of us in this room today. Let us seize this opportunity to work together; unifying our vision and efforts to secure the future of our beloved country and build a legacy we can proudly pass on to future generations,” he urged.

Minister Bartlett expressed confidence that “With the right strategy and plan in place, we can achieve all these objectives and more. I urge you all to join hands and work towards creating a comprehensive Tourism Strategy and Action Plan for Jamaica.”

The collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and the IDB has the support of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and involves several specialized firms and consultants in the development of a set of in-depth diagnostics to inform the future Jamaica Tourism Strategy.

Meanwhile, citing that tourism was critical in the economic and social development of the country, the IDB’s Chief of Operations for Jamaica, Mr. Lorenzo Escondeur, said that although the industry had made a remarkable recovery from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, “tourism has not yet achieved its full transformational potential, and with the challenges that exist including environmental degradation, climate change impact, new disruptive technologies, and a rapid change in demand patterns,” it was necessary to reconsider tourism policies and investments, and the role of the public sector and multilateral organizations in the sector's development.

He stated that human activity and climate change threatened most of the country's biodiversity, “and if we do not take prompt action, some endemic animal and vegetation species might be lost forever, and Jamaica would lose its competitive edge for potential visitors.”

There was therefore a need for increased focus on nature preservation to permit the development of new tourism products and expand the tourism economic footprint beyond current major destinations.

Mr. Escondeur said working in close collaboration with the Jamaican government, the private sector, and civil society in such a strategic sector as tourism was crucial for implementing the Bank's mission of improving people's lives, and tourism was critical in the economic and social development of Jamaica.

Pre-pandemic, the travel and tourism contribution to Jamaica's Gross Domestic Product reached over 30% with the sector being about one-third of the total economy. Also, the tourism sector was directly or indirectly linked to around 30% of jobs and nearly 60% of total exports were driven by international visitor spending.

It was also necessary to build climate resilience by moving forward with tourism land-use planning by destination and developing a comprehensive and integrated coastal management framework to boost the sector's competitiveness and sustainability.

He indicated that the Inter-American Development Bank “would continue supporting the Jamaican government to design and implement an evidence-based strategy that will guide all public and private sector stakeholders into a new future.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sunday, May 28, 2023: Coming out of the best winter tourist season ever, Jamaica is now set to achieve record visitor arrivals for the summer.

“As of May 10, 2023, the island has welcomed just over 1.5 million total visitors, with provisional gross earnings exceeding US$ 1.6 billion for the same period. The 2023 summer is gearing up to be the best summer in the history of tourism in Jamaica,” says Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

Already, 1.4 million seats have been secured, representing a 16% increase over the previous best in 2019. Jamaica’s main source market, the United States of America, has locked in 1.2 of these seats. “We are expecting a load factor of some 87.5%, which means that 1.2 million visitors will come to Jamaica over the summer period and will bring revenue of some US$1.5 billion just within that period of June to August,” says Mr Bartlett.

Travel bookings are currently showing a rise of 33% compared to summer 2022 and the anticipated boom is being weighed against Jamaica having welcomed approximately 3.3 million visitors for 2022/23 to register a remarkable recovery of earnings compared to pre-Covid earnings of 2019.

In the meantime, Minister Bartlett is also upbeat over the increasing number of celebrities flocking to Jamaica. “Making Jamaica their place of choice for a vacation is testimony to the post-Covid impression we have made and the appeal that we now have in the marketplace as well as confidence in what we offer as a leading destination,” he says.

The most recent celebrity to grace our  shores is American actress Angelina Jolie, who was spotted Saturday at the 15th Calabash International Literary Festival in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, which has become a cultural mecca that attracts thousands of writers and literary enthusiasts from across the globe.

Another celebrity recently on the island was top U.S. rapper ‘2Chainz’ whose real name is Tauheed Epps. He stood out at a party at Elevate Lounge and Nightclub in Montego Bay Wednesday night for the launch of Mochafest Jamaica 2023.

Mocha Fest is an Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean destination festival brand that promotes freedom of self and expression and since 2014, has been creating life-changing vacation experiences for thousands of people across the world. The series of party events started as a single festival in Jamaica with only 200 people and has now grown to multiple destinations worldwide with events as large as 5,000 attendees.

‘2Chainz’ was joined by Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright, other government officials and scores of largely American party vacationers. He has been sharing his time in Jamaica with his over 12 million Instagram followers, giving the country tremendous exposure.

‘2Chainz’ and Angelina Jolie join a slew of other celebrities, including Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and his family; Senior US President Joe Biden administration Cabinet member and U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen; Maryland Governor Wes Moore; Hollywood screen actors Michael Douglas, his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Amos and Tracee Ellis Ross; Nigerian Afrobeat mega-star Burna Boy as well as American music stars Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Offset, Rick Ross, Omarion and Chance the Rapper, who have made Jamaica their preferred vacation spot in recent months.

Meanwhile, capitalizing on the goodwill being generated, Minister Bartlett is gearing up to lead a high-profile team from the Ministry of Tourism to sure up business in the lucrative North American travel market.

Kingston, Jamaica; May 16, 2023: With the Jamaican tourism sector continuing on its robust growth trajectory for 2023, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has revealed that as of May 10, 2023, the island has welcomed just over 1.5 million total visitors, with provisional gross earnings exceeding US$ 1.6 billion for the same period.

Minister Bartlett made the announcement on the heels of the 41^st Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Barbados, where he received the President’s Award for Caribbean Excellence in Tourism. The tourism minister shared that the current year-to-date figures revealed that Destination Jamaica hit this target ahead of projections.

“Between January 1, 2023 and May 10, we received 1,586,303 total visitors, stopover and cruise, earning US$1.69 billion, putting our destination on par with 2019 record figures. We have seen steady growth in our arrivals and continued investment in the tourism sector, which is a tremendous achievement,” said Minister Bartlett.

The tourism minister stressed that strategic investments and resilience building were key areas of focus in sustaining the strong recovery of the tourism sector. He further cited intensified marketing efforts, increased room capacity and expanded airlift connectivity as critical drivers behind the boom in tourist arrivals. 

In this regard, Minister Bartlett stated: “To keep this growth on an upward trajectory, we continue to secure new air service with the addition of new routes by prestigious carriers such as American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Arajet, and Edelweiss Airlines. Plus, we are expanding and modernizing Sangster International Airport and have approximately 8,000 new hotel rooms slated for construction over the next two to five years.”

Minister Bartlett highlighted that the Ministry of Tourism’s Blue Ocean Strategy as well as its Destination Assurance Framework and Strategy continue to influence the development of a more sustainable, resilient and diverse tourism product.

“Jamaica is leveraging key pillars for tourism that showcase the destination’s unique culture and heritage while simultaneously addressing the desire of today’s traveller to experience more than just sun, sea and sand. We need to carefully manage the industry through resilience building, so it can continually adapt to issues that may arise and put plans in place to protect it from potential future shocks,” noted Minister Bartlett.

Kingston, Jamaica; Tuesday, May 16, 2023: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, this morning departed the island to join global tourism leaders for the 118^th Session of the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Executive Council, which runs from May 16-18, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Representatives from 159 member states will convene to discuss trends in international tourism, resilience building and tourism’s impact on economic and social development globally, among other issues.

Some critical agenda items include a status report on the establishment of the Task Force on “Redesigning Tourism for the Future”, a status report on the establishment of UNWTO Regional and Thematic Offices and a report on preparations for the 25^th session of UNWTO General Assembly later this year (October 16-20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

“These meetings always provide a great opportunity to share best practices, build new relationships and strengthen existing partnerships. This session will also allow UNWTO member states to brainstorm ways we can reimagine tourism in a post-COVID-19 era, carefully manage our strong recovery and decide on a strategic path towards future-proofing the sector against various types of shocks,” noted the tourism minister.

Minister Bartlett’s schedule of activities will also include an Inter-Institutional Forum on Sustainable Tourism in the Dominican Republic and a thematic session entitled “New Narratives in Tourism”.  The latter event will show how tourism adapts its communication to the demands of an audience that is more technological, demanding and committed.  It is a platform to exchange ideas and convey the message of a more innovative, sustainable and people-centred tourism, through the integration of novel tools and concepts. Noted presenters include Travel Media Founder and Managing Director, Michael Collins;  Instagram’s Director of Public Policy, Ernest Voyard and Meta’s Director of  External Affairs, Sharon Yang.

The Executive Council is expected to propose themes and host countries for World Tourism Day 2024 and 2025 and select the place and dates of the next two sessions.

Minister Bartlett is being accompanied  by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Jennifer Griffith. 

He returns to Jamaica on Friday, May 19, 2023.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Monday, 15 May 2023: Caribbean insurance companies have been challenged to play a pivotal role in ensuring safety and security within the regional tourism industry.

Citing Jamaica’s tourism recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said that during the pandemic the insurance sector was needed on board as a safety valve to give assurance to visitors that they had protection if anything happened when they arrived at the destination. This, he said, was integral to the early recovery of the industry.

Minister Bartlett’s position was stated yesterday (May 14) as he delivered the keynote address at the Hall of Fame Induction dinner of the 34^th Sales Congress of the Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARAIFA), held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay.

“As the islands act urgently to integrate resilience as a core component of its tourism development agenda, Caribbean insurance companies can play a critical role in helping to protect the tourism sector in the face of future crises,” he said.

He listed a number of ways in which the insurance industry can help to contribute to tourism resilience, such as providing coverage for loss of income and property damage caused by a variety of risks, including natural disasters, pandemics or other disruptions; helping businesses and individuals accurately assess the risk associated with their activities and providing advice on the types of coverage that should be taken out; and increasing awareness of the importance of having adequate coverage in place by engaging in public education campaigns.

Mr. Bartlett suggested that the campaigns could include providing advice on best practices in risk management as well as making people aware of the consequences of not having adequate coverage in place and educating travellers who are unfamiliar with the risk they could be exposed to and what insurance coverage to look for.

He also stated that the insurance industry could help to contribute to tourism resilience by investing in disaster response and relief initiatives such as providing financial support for businesses and individuals affected by natural disasters or pandemic-related disruptions as well as aiding in rebuilding efforts.

Minister Bartlett noted that at last week’s Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) 41st Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Barbados, discussions took place on establishing a full pension plan across the region using as a model Jamaica’s ground-breaking comprehensive Tourism Workers Pension Scheme (TWPS), which involves two major insurance companies in the management and administration of the fund.

An important consideration is that “it has tremendous implications for capital formation across the Caribbean because there are one million workers in the tourism sector in the region; 643,000 of which are working directly in the industry and the others indirectly,” said Minister Bartlett, adding, “and if that pension plan is taken across the region as Jamaica has it, there is the potential to create a level of domestic saving, the size of which the region would never have seen” providing a pool of low-cost funds to build the Caribbean.

With Jamaica’s TWPS now fully operational, he said, “We now need a comprehensive health plan for the workers of the industry” and challenged the insurance sector “to craft an instrument that will enable a health security arrangement for the workers of the tourism industry in the Caribbean.”

With the theme for the CARAIFA sales congress focussing on resilience, Minister Bartlett also called on the region’s insurance companies “to build the human capital of our region.” He said, “Resilience has to come from knowledge, from building capacity for people to convert ideas into meaningful and practical application that will have a value and so we must build the capacity of our young people to think, not just to regurgitate information which they get by reading a text but learn to innovate.”

He, therefore, called on CARAIFA to work with the education system on a programme “to help to establish innovation incubators where young people can learn about financial administration, how to use their money properly and wisely, and learn what insurance is all about.”

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados; Wednesday, May 10, 2023: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has been recognized for his stellar contribution to the regional tourism industry. The Minister received the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s prestigious President’s Award for Caribbean Excellence in Tourism during the Travel Forum and Awards luncheon held at Sandals Royal Barbados yesterday (May 9).

“The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association is acutely aware that resilience strengthens Caribbean tourism, and it is a message that has reached all corners of the region and the world largely because of the efforts of one man, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s dynamic Minister of Tourism. This is one of the many reasons why we honour him today,” said President of the CHTA, Mrs. Nicola Madden-Greig.

One of Minister Bartlett’s notable international successes was the establishment of The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), which assembles distinguished international experts to examine resilience from multiple viewpoints, a timely and much needed forum for the examination of the key elements needed to strengthen the region’s major economic driver, tourism.

“It is always good to be recognized for your hard work and dedication, but this award is extra special as it is coming from my regional partners who I have worked shoulder to shoulder with for many years to improve our tourism experience and ultimately arrivals and earnings,” said Minister Bartlett.

Mr. Bartlett was also cited as an advocate for harmonizing cooperation and collaboration among Caribbean countries and has called for a single use visa to encourage visitors to travel to multiple destinations in the region.

He has also encouraged the larger international airlines to dedicate more flights to the Caribbean. Stressing it was possible to compete as well as cooperate with each other, he coined the word “co-petition.”

“There is much more work to be done and I believe that the Caribbean is poised for even greater achievements in tourism,” added Minister Bartlett.

“Tourism in the Caribbean and Jamaica are that much better off for having an innovative thought leader like Minister Bartlett and we all wholeheartedly congratulate him,” said Donovan White, Director of Tourism.