MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Friday, September 2, 2022: Jamaica and the South American nation of Paraguay are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at building regional tourism and boosting growth in the hospitality industries in both countries.

The announcement was made as Minister Bartlett held bilateral talks at the Montego Bay Convention Centre with Paraguay’s Minister of Tourism, Her Excellency Sofía Montiel de Afara. “Jamaica and Paraguay have enjoyed fraternal relations for a long time and we think now that tourism offers an opportunity for the deepening of that relationship between our two countries,” said Mr Bartlett. He saw the talks as also making a statement of collaboration.

With all tourism destinations now engaged in devising strategies for recovery from the devastating fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Bartlett stated that: “We know that recovery for tourism is not linear, we know also that to attempt to recover alone is a futile one; we are convinced that we can recover together, stronger and better and that it will inure to the economic development not just of the Americas but more specifically, to our individual countries.”

The tourism ministers noted that there were several areas under consideration for the MOU, such as building the capacity of small and medium tourism enterprises, which Mr. Bartlett stressed, constitute more than 80 percent of tourism entities globally. The aim, he said, was to look at building capacity, enabling greater levels of creative output from these enterprises “but more so for them to be able to manage better and be able to contribute to the economic value chain and enrich their own experience.”

Multi-destination tourism was also identified as a critical component to enable a larger flow of visitors from far-flung destinations and the need to harmonize protocols on border controls and health to facilitate seamless movement between the cooperating countries. Air connectivity was also identified as a key area for attention.

Also included in their discussion was collaboration in the training and development of the human capital, as a large number of tourism workers from various areas have not returned to the jobs they held prior to the pandemic and there was the critical need to bolster the industry’s labour force. “The Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) will play a role with our partners in Paraguay in enabling training and certification of a number of key workers,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Montiel expressed pleasure at being in Jamaica and said her country would be keen on having Minister Bartlett chair a working group to fine-tune the MOU that he hopes will be signed when he takes up an invitation to visit Paraguay.

Speaking through an interpreter, Minister Montiel said: “It is important for us to have this type of meeting because it is not alone that it’s going to work, it’s together between the Americas.” She said the invitation to Minister Bartlett was also “to work as tourism families on innovations and capacity building.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; September 2, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has welcomed the announcement by Spirit Airlines that it will be introducing nonstop flights from Connecticut to Montego Bay, Jamaica. This will be the only nonstop flight arrangement between Connecticut and Jamaica.

Minister Bartlett, in welcoming the news, said “this is connecting the Diaspora in a stronger way.” He also noted that “Hartford, Connecticut is a centre of Diaspora activities where third and fourth generation Jamaicans are very well established,” adding that they will not have to drive for miles to board a flight to visit Jamaica.

Reiterating his excitement, the Tourism Minister also stressed that the “Tristate area is strengthening,” referring to it as “the bread and butter area for tourism out of the United States.”

Spirit Airlines’ new service from Connecticut to Montego Bay will commence just in time for the start of the 2022/23 Winter Tourist Season.

The new route will operate out of Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Connecticut, with the first flight slated to arrive at the Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay on December 15, 2022. The service is expected to operate four times per week.

Minister Bartlett noted that the flight is a “welcome addition to our airlift arrangements as we continue our drive to further boost the flow of US visitors to Jamaica through the addition of new gateways and greater seat support. Our tourism sector is rebounding at a very brisk pace, with record arrivals and greater visitor spend. So, this new service will also help to enhance these numbers and will increase arrivals into our tourism Mecca, Montego Bay.”

“Furthermore, Connecticut has a vibrant Jamaican Diaspora and on the flip side many Jamaicans trek to Connecticut for business and family engagements, they will all no doubt fully utilize this convenient service,” he added.

Sending congratulations to the team that has made the new arrangement a reality, Minister Bartlett said he is also excited about the partnerships that have been developed.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Thursday, September 1, 2022: Jamaica and Kenya have agreed to collaborate in the area of tourism in a bid to strengthen the hospitality sectors in both countries. Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has revealed that the partnership between both countries will entail collaboration between the Montego Bay Convention Centre and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Kenya.

The agreement came out of talks yesterday (August 31) between Minister Bartlett and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nana Gecaga. The centre is owned by the government of Kenya. Ms Gecaga who is niece to Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, is also a well-known businesswoman and works primarily in international marketing and tourism.

With both countries having a keen interest in MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism, the high-level talks were conveniently held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, a public body of the Ministry of Tourism. Mr Bartlett said one of the key points in the talks was intended to be “a movement when we begin to codify, if not solidify the connection between the Montego Bay Convention Centre and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.”

Underscoring the importance of making the connection, he said: “We are the location in the Caribbean for big meetings, exhibitions and incentive activities, as Kenya is in Eastern Africa, so we think that synergy exists and that collaboration will inure to the benefit of all.”

Ms Gecaga sees the twinning of the two convention centres as a tangible step in achieving that objective.

“I think definitely there’s a lot of synergies that can take place,” she said and pointed to the need for Jamaica to be part of an association that would pave the way for it hosting major award ceremonies and other events. She said this would allow for a partnership in which Kenya bids for a major convention with a key factor being the ability to offer Montego Bay as a rotating host.

Among other proposals, she identified were, having an exchange programme and being proactive in creating events.

Having been to Jamaica previously, she lauded the country’s hospitality as “outstanding” and admitted that: “When leaving to head back to the States, I remember crying! It’s the only place that I’ve cried when I left.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 19, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has underscored that the outstanding performance of the tourism sector as outlined in the latest report by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) highlights the fact that tourism is driving Jamaica’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

This as he welcomed the PIOJ’s report which indicates that the tourism sector has contributed significantly to the country’s economic growth in the second quarter of the year. The PIOJ yesterday (August 18) announced that the economy grew by 5.7% during the April to June quarter of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, with the tourism and hospitality sector contributing substantially.

The PIOJ reported that the Real Value Added for Hotels & Restaurants grew by an estimated 55.4%, reflecting a sharp increase in visitor arrivals from all main source markets, and that for April–May 2022 total Foreign National arrivals was 399,310 visitors, representing an increase of 110.0% relative to the corresponding period in 2021.

Minister Bartlett stressed that “the figures from the PIOJ highlight the fact that the tourism industry is driving Jamaica’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery,” adding that “the results are a clear indication of the resilience of the sector, which is rebounding steadily.”

As he embraced the news Minister Bartlett met with representatives of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and other industry stakeholders, including members of the Tourism Recovery Task Force, today (August 19), for a mid-year review of the sector.

It was also outlined that visitor spend is currently outpacing 2019 Levels. According to Jamaica Tourist Board figures, length of stay is back to the 2019 levels of 7.9 nights and more importantly the Average Spend per Visitor has increased from US$ 168 per night to US$ 182 per person per night.

Minister Bartlett notes that “this simply means that the tourism sector is generating more foreign exchange per visitor. So, there is more money circulating in the wider economy and this benefits various players in the industry, such as attractions, the transportation sub-sector and artisans, thereby creating greater economic impact.” 

During the meeting, it was highlighted that since reopening in June 2020, Jamaica has welcomed over 3.5 million (3,556,394) visitors as at July 2022. Likewise, year-to-date the island has welcomed over 1.7 million visitors (1,714,956), an increase of 139.4% over the same period in 2021.

There was also an estimated increase of 10% in visitor arrivals for July 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. With increased arrivals month-over-month, Minister Bartlett said “we remain optimistic that our performance figures will return to 2019 pre-COVID record levels by 2023.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 12, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has expressed that the renewal of human capital will be crucial to fuelling the sustainable and accelerated growth of the tourism sector, and the Jamaican economy overall.

Minister Bartlett believes that this can only be achieved in the post-COVID-19 era through the introduction of a robust framework to facilitate the revitalisation of the human capital in the tourism sector and address key labour market challenges. The Minister made the disclosure during his keynote address at the Mico Centennial International Education Symposium hosted by The Mico University College Alumni Association (MOSA) in collaboration with The Mico University College, at the Jamaica Pegasus on Thursday, August 11, 2022.

Minister Bartlett indicates that the process of addressing such challenges is being led by the recently established Tourism Labour Market Committee, which forms part of the expanded Tourism Recovery Task Force. Earlier this year, the Task Force was restructured to include six committees in order to address several COVID-19 related issues within the sector and guide its full restoration.

The reorganised Task Force, which was first established to increase vaccination levels among tourism workers, also focuses on issues such as creating a conducive legislative and regulatory environment, boosting marketing and investment, as well as enhancing synergies with the entertainment sector.

In expounding on the role of the Tourism Labour Market Committee and its benefits to the recovery process, Minister Bartlett noted that it is necessary to “identify solutions to address some of the traditional constraints to the mobility of the country’s tourism workforce, fill workforce gaps through skill development and training, and raise the overall prospects and attractiveness of the tourism sector as a career option for persons seeking high-skilled, high-paying jobs.”

He expressed that the Committee will aid the sector in responding to new labour market trends. “Several trends are impacting the skills needed to perform competently in tourism-related jobs, such as digitalization and virtualization, the demand for sustainable behaviours and practices, the growth of non-traditional segments, the changing demographics of international travellers, changing lifestyles and consumer demands,” he explained.

The Tourism Minister outlined that while traditionally the tourism sector has enjoyed one of the highest rates of labour mobility of any segment of the economy, “it is equally true that many of the opportunities taken up by our citizens are those that require low skill and offer limited prospect for economic mobility,” adding that the Committee is seeking to address situations like these.

He also noted that this type of intervention will foster continued growth through “strategies that will ensure that the right people with the right skills are available to meet the growing demand for diversified human capital.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 10, 2022: Jamaica and the Cayman Islands have initiated discussions to facilitate collaboration on tourism, in order to leverage the strong historical ties and synergies between both nations to boost their tourism sectors. Among the areas being examined for cooperation are multi-destination tourism, airlift, enhancing border protocols, rationalizing airspace as well as resilience building.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett made the disclosure during a meeting today (August 10, 2022) with members of a special delegation from the Cayman Islands, led by Hon. Christopher Saunders, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance & Economic Development and Minister of Border Control & Labour and Hon. Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism & Transport. 

Minister Bartlett revealed that special focus will be placed on multi-destination tourism adding that he will be meeting with key players in the industry in Cayman next month.

He said he believes “the meeting in Cayman with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in September, could be the steppingstone for coalescing our position on elements of multi-destination tourism,” noting also that he would be “more so looking at airlift and airline collaboration.”

In the same breath, Minister Bartlett said he is “ready to work with Cayman to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Cayman Islands in relation to multi-destination tourism” adding that “Jamaica has already signed four similar agreements with Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama.”

He explained that in developing the framework the Ministry of Tourism is seeking to “include the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Belize, from this side of the Caribbean.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Bartlett has made a call for players in the private sector to develop a special tourism package, with an attractive price, that can be presented to the market to promote multi-destination tourism and enhance the regional tourism product. He said the issue will be further explored at the next meeting of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) in October this year.

The CHTA will host the 40th edition of its flagship trade event Caribbean Travel Marketplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico from October 3 to 5.

In describing the concept of a possible package, Mr. Bartlett explained that: “If you buy a trip to Jamaica for US$ 50 that US$ 50 takes you into Cayman and into Trinidad” adding however that “that in itself would be an interesting and challenging task because we would then have to look at price differentiation in relation to what the product offering is.” Such packages he feels will help to fuel the development of multi-destination tourism across the region, adding that it is “not beyond us.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 5, 2022: Jamaica’s tourism sector has almost fully recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had threatened the very survival of the industry. The revelation was made by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett during a meeting with members of a special delegation from the Republic of Namibia, led by the African nation’s Minister in the Presidency, Hon. Christine //Hoebes, on Friday (August 5, 2022).

In making the disclosure, Minister Bartlett said “the good news is that Jamaica has now recovered 90 percent from the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism sector,” adding that “our recovery in terms of arrivals this year is likely to be well over 3 million, and we are also expecting our earnings will be just about $100 million, or so, below our best earnings in 2019 of $3.7 billion.”

The Minister also highlighted that Jamaica’s main source markets are also rebounding strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In giving a breakdown, Minister Bartlett noted that the United Kingdom (UK) is the only market where “we are pacing ahead of 2019” figures, noting that compared to pre-COVID numbers “we are six percent ahead in the UK market.”

The discussion with members of the delegation followed a meeting of the Jamaica/Namibia Joint Committee earlier this week where agreements were signed in several areas including tourism, logistics, urban development, and Diaspora cooperation.

Mr. Bartlett added that “the US has come back very strongly, and while Canada is lagging behind a little, progress is being made.”

He also noted that based on Jamaica’s tourism recovery “we can give some help and support in terms of Namibia’s own recovery programme.”

Mr. Bartlett outlined that under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which covers tourism, both countries will be collaborating in areas such as marketing, human capital development, sustainability and resilience building.

Minister Bartlett noted that, this will entail working with officials in Namibia to facilitate the establishment of a satellite centre of the Jamaica based, Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) in the coming months.

In response, Minister Christine //Hoebes, said she is happy for, and looking forward to, the collaboration with Jamaica on all fronts, especially that of tourism and human capital development.

She noted that “this will strengthen the collaboration between the two countries” adding that “the agreement will put Namibia in a better place” regarding cruise tourism, especially from the port in Montego Bay, Jamaica to the port in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

She expressed that her country is also looking forward to emulating that which “attracts tourists to Jamaica and keep them coming back.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Saturday, July 23, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has explained that the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) will need to play an integral role in making multi-destination travel to the region feasible.

Mr Bartlett was reiterating his stance that multi-destination vacation was the answer to sustaining tourism in the Caribbean and the need for a regional airline to support it. “We have to look at harmonizing the protocols in relation to the use of our airspace so that on entering the Caribbean airspace we could be domestic to all of the other countries that are part of this partnership,” he said in an interview at the Bunker’s Hill community tourism attraction.

Conceding that “it’s a little tall order,” he said “It also requires a strong political will and I think that CARICOM will have to play a very significant role in all of this.” He is assured however, that “it’s not beyond us because we started it out when we had World Cup Cricket (in 2007) and we had a Caribbean visa and we even had a Caribbean passport.”

Minister Bartlett said the proposal did not entail a change of immigration protocols, “we’re merely asking for a change in visitor facilitation to enable more visitors to come into the Caribbean and to stimulate the region’s economy.”

The proposal for multi-destination travel in the Caribbean and a dedicated regional airline was presented to by Minister Bartlett to a host of Ministers of Tourism, Permanent Secretaries and other officials at a High Level Policy Forum for building the resilience of small tourism enterprises in the Caribbean to disasters, hosted by the Organization of American States, at the Holiday Inn Resort.

Several presentations were made at the forum and Minister Bartlett who is Chairman of the OAS Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR), said these would be collated by the OAS “and we will have distributed to member states best practices that came out of this. We also will be able to use data from it to create critical tools to assist in better managing and in building resilience particularly among our small and medium enterprises.”

The two-day forum ended with delegates being taken on a field trip to Bunker’s Hill in the Trelawny interior, described by Minister Bartlett as “one of the few diverse experiences that a visitor can get under the rubric of community tourism, nestled as it is in the heart of the Cockpit Country valley.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Thursday, July 21, 2022: Chairman of the OAS Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR) and Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett sees the need for an effective regional airline to boost tourism in the Caribbean.

His call came at Wednesday’s opening session of the Organisation of American States (OAS) High-Level Policy Forum to discuss ways to safeguard the region’s tourism sector from disruptions, including a looming recession. It is being held at the Holiday Inn July 20 and 21, 2022 with nearly 200 participants on location and virtually.

The two-day event is being held under the theme: Building the Resilience of Small Tourism Enterprises (STE) in the Caribbean to Disasters with expectations that it will provide tools for managing disruptions, including those of the climatic and economic type.

Organised in collaboration with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the forum of Ministers of Tourism, Permanent Secretaries and other high-ranking policy-makers is giving priority attention to the needs of small tourism enterprises.

Minister Bartlett said the forum had paved the way for a serious discussion on the future of tourism as a real driver of economic development in the Caribbean and as an instrument for inclusive growth and “it has also paved the way for a reimagining of the tourism protocols and re-establishment of the key national imperatives of enabling freedom of movement within the Caribbean area.”

The CITUR Chairman said “at the heart of the freedom of movement is a transportation policy that would allow for regional carriers to develop and for movement also in terms of border controls.”

In this regard he said a regional visa regime was being explored, adding, “if we are to build Caribbean tourism, recognizing that as individual states we’re too small to grow and to benefit from the recovery of tourism as it now stands but together as a region we can grow and we can benefit in many ways.” These included multi-destination tourism in which a visa regime is a must and a common airspace.

“Rationalize the airspace so that airlines flying into the Caribbean pay one fee and it allows them to travel through the airspaces of the other countries,” he said. Also, there would be pre-clearing arrangements allowing for visitors coming into the region and have tourism visas to clear customs in Jamaica and enjoy domestic status in the other islands.

Mr Bartlett said this would bring more airlines into the space as turnaround time would be significantly reduced. Another advantage would be multiple experiences for visitors from long haul destinations. He said the Caribbean airline would facilitate having multi-destinations with visitors booking one package at one price from which all would benefit.

Asserting that tourism has been the mainstay of the Caribbean economic development in the last 40 years, Minister Bartlett said more than 90 percent were small, medium and micro enterprises, and 80 percent globally. With those statistics, he wondered why it had taken so long to be making this focus on building the capacity of these enterprises to pivot and recover swiftly and thrive after disruptions.

He identified three key factors that he said small and medium tourism enterprises had to come to grips with, namely; building capacity for knowledge through training and development, financing that allowed for small enterprises to scale up in quality and consistency, and effective marketing.

Also, faced with the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said small enterprises had to rebuild to be able to identify and forecast disruptions, to mitigate against them, to be able to manage them and to recover as quickly as possible.

The policy forum also has on its agenda discussions on issues such as the barriers and challenges facing small tourism enterprises, crisis communication, business continuity planning tools and the establishment of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).

KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 20, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has given assurance to investors that now is the time to invest in Jamaica as a destination.

Speaking at the official opening of the ROK Hotel Kingston, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in Downtown, Kingston on Tuesday (July 19), Minister Bartlett assured the stakeholders of the “soundness of the investing in Jamaica”, as well as their “decision to open at this particular time in our development as a country and as a destination”.

The Tourism Minister stressed that “Jamaica has, over the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, sought to do one thing only, to future-proof this destination, building resilience against disruptions”, adding that the “future-proofing involves marketing new markets and diversification” among other things.

Mr. Bartlett noted that the disruptions that have caused the cessation of tourism has now subsided a little and we are entering a period where activities are buzzing.

Acknowledging the expansion of the Hilton Hotel brand across the Caribbean, Minister Bartlett said has observed that the Hiltons “diversify well” adding that it is “exciting news” to have the newest of its brand in Jamaica, especially at this time of recovery.

Meanwhile, in thanking PanJam Investment Limited for its investment in destination Jamaica, Minister Bartlett said he is “excited about the prospects of changing the game and the way we have operated in tourism” adding that “we have to collaborate, cooperate, and grow and recover together”.

The ROK Hotel Kingston, which sits on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Kings Street, in Downtown, Kingston and overlooks the Kingston Harbour - the seventh largest natural harbour in the world, includes168 rooms, residential opportunities and meeting spaces for businesses, restaurant, and a fitness centre among other amenities.

The ROK Hotel Kingston is owned by PanJam Investment Limited and is being managed by Highgate, a real estate investment and hospitality management company.