KINGSTON, JAMAICA, December 16, 2022 – Continuing to expand ease of access to the island for US travelers, Jamaica welcomed new air service from Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford to Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay yesterday morning by Spirit Airlines. This is the first ever nonstop flight from Connecticut to Jamaica, making the event truly a historic one.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome the inaugural flight by Spirit from Connecticut to Jamaica, providing us with further reach into the key Northeastern U.S.,” said the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica. “The expansion of our partnership with Spirit Airlines is a welcome addition to our airlift arrangements as we continue our drive to further boost the flow of visitors to Jamaica through the addition of new gateways and greater seat support.”

“This new non-stop service provides yet another convenient option for visitors to get to our beautiful island,” added Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board. “It is wonderful to see so many people on board the very first flight, indicating strong demand for Jamaica from the Connecticut area.”

Upon landing in Montego Bay, the arriving flight received a high-spraying water cannon salute on the runway to mark the occasion. Disembarking passengers were greeted by officials from the Jamaica Tourist Board and the airport. In keeping with tradition, gifts were presented to the pilots and crew of the flight in appreciation of their service. Live music from a Jamaican mento band capped off the festive atmosphere.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Monday, December 12, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that participants in the Tourism Innovation Incubator whose ideas are chosen for implementation, will have access to $100 million to transform those ideas into profitable projects.

The Tourism Innovation Incubator is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, established through the Tourism Enhancement Fund to incentivize ideas that can enhance Jamaica’s tourism industry on the premise that the future will be driven by ideas which in turn drive innovation and invention.

Speaking during a welcome reception for the start of the Tech Beach Retreat at the Iberostar resort recently, Minister Bartlett said “I have put $100 million in EXIM Bank for the new ideas which are converted into material things that add value.”

The Tourism Innovation Incubator is a business development centre for individuals such as entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas that can impact the tourism sector. Its purpose is to provide a unique and highly flexible combination of services, including business support services and infrastructure. It will also nurture the young entrepreneurs and support them through the early stages of development and execution.

Convinced that tourism: “Is driven by ideas,” Minister Bartlett said post COVID-19, innovation will play a major role in taking Jamaica’s industry to higher levels of achievement. “After the recovery started, we learnt how all the other disruptions have come that are now going to be challenging and new ideas is what we need to meet those challenges,” said Minister Bartlett.

It was outlined that the rollout of the Tourism Innovation Incubator was accomplished with an injection of $40 million and the first 13 inductees were introduced to Minister Bartlett earlier this week.

Elaborating on the $100 million funding facility, Mr. Bartlett said: “We are saying to the young people, when you have come with your ideas to the Incubator and we take you through the boot camp and your ideas have been proven to have value, then we will provide you with initial funding to convert those ideas fully into material things.”

He also pointed to the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre located at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which evolved out of an idea prior to the pandemic and whose function is to anticipate disruptions, mitigate and manage them to recover quickly and thrive.

Mr. Bartlett revealed that the eight satellite centres already established across the globe, “will be followed by eight more in Bosnia, Herzegovina; Botswana, Rwanda, Namibia, Japan, and at the Sofia University in Bulgaria by the middle of next year.”

He added that “the purpose of that is to bring young people across the globe to start thinking about one subject called tourism resilience and how to build capacity to respond to disruptions, to bounce back fast and to thrive.”

Tech Beach is designed to drive a paradigm shift in the economic outlook of Jamaica by attracting an audience of global business luminaries, innovators, and investors.

The key pillars on which it is built are transforming the international business image of Jamaica, human capital development, upskilling the workforce to be globally competitive, attracting global investment and partnerships to create more jobs on the island. Likewise, it focuses on strengthening engagement with international counterparts and the Diaspora, promoting entrepreneurship and driving thought leadership in business, technology and innovation.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Monday, December 5, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has copped yet another major award for his contribution to Jamaica’s tourism sector and national development as he received the 2022 President’s Special Award from the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MBCCI), which recognized him for his “stellar service to our country through the various roles that you perform.”

Presenting the coveted award at the chamber’s recent annual awards banquet, MBCCI President Oral Heaven said the chamber “joins in congratulating you on your tremendous work in the tourism sector before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.” Minister Bartlett was also lauded for his support to business in Montego Bay, whether directly or indirectly linked to tourism.

“Your continued work and accomplishments in assisting with education, housing and in other areas have been significant parts of the formula for success echoed all over Jamaica,” Mr. Heaven expressed.

Acknowledging the President’s Special Award, Minister Bartlett thanked the chamber of commerce for its kind consideration and words of encouragement.

Mr. Bartlett, who has received a treasure trove of awards locally, regionally and internationally, credited his team and sector partners for their support throughout the years. He said, “I shall cherish this award in a very special way. I am truly humbled by the recognition, and I want to applaud the work of the dedicated and hardworking team that I lead in the Ministry of Tourism and its public bodies, as well as all our committed tourism stakeholders for their contribution and support in developing the tourism sector and our wider society over the years.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; November 28, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has signalled the start of what he termed “a new perspective in tourism development in Jamaica” following the ground-breaking ceremony for the UNICO Montego Bay 451-room luxury adults only all-inclusive resort recently.

UNICO Montego Bay will be joined by other high-end brands such as Hard Rock for which ground will also be broken soon.

UNICO Montego Bay is only the second hotel brand under the RCD Hotels banner locally and the choice of location met the desire of the family hotel chain “to expand the brand to a destination in the Caribbean known for its rich culture and stunning beaches.” RCD Hotels has developments in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the United States of America. 

It was also highlighted that the resort development will be complemented by the construction of 1,000 houses for hotel workers in partnership with the Housing Agency of Jamaica.

The development of the UNICO Montego Bay resort will provide over 1,000 construction jobs and 600 serving the rooms in operation. In the long-term however, the RCD group’s investment project could expand to 2,000 rooms, including the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, at which time there will be over 4,000 construction jobs and 5,000 during operation.

The development has been welcomed by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness and Minister Bartlett as an investment not only in tourism but in the people of Jamaica. The monetary value of the investment has not been disclosed however, as the developers said it is a family policy not to do so.

The Prime Minister said "I want to welcome the RCD group to Jamaica. We are very happy to have you as a development partner and we know that it is not just an investment in our sun, sea, and sand. You're also going to be investing in our society."

Prime Minister Holness stressed that Jamaica was seeking to offer safety, security, soundness, seamlessness and stability in attracting investors and visitors. He noted that RCD Hotels had made its decision to invest in Jamaica because of the unique cultural experiences of the people. “But they’re also making the decision because Jamaica is a country that you can bank on,” he said.

Minister Bartlett emphasised that: “All subsequent discussions with investors coming into Jamaica for tourism will take into account the impact on the environment; the impact of the social development within the area and the governance of the area.”

Giving an assurance to the developers that their investment would be productive and profitable, Minister Bartlett said up to Thursday, November 24, 2022 visitor arrivals for the year so far showed a 97% recovery on 2019 figures and revenue is up 20% above 2019 levels.

He said: “We in Jamaica are not just concerned about building tourism as we understand it; we want to build to another dimension, we want to build communities with tourism.” He said the community in which the hotel is being built “is part of the development process that is going to show Jamaica what the new tourism post-COVID is going to be like.”

Vice-President of Development at RCD Hotels, Rodrigo Chapur said his family was happy to be bringing the second UNICO branded hotel to Jamaica.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 28, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is heading a team of Caribbean tourism officials to Saudi Arabia to cement a major multi-destination tourism arrangement with leading airlines in the Middle East.

Mr. Bartlett who left the island on the weekend, will also be a key panellist during a high-level discussion on “Enhancing Our Resilience” at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 28 – December 1, 2022,

Minister Bartlett said on his trip to the Middle East, he will be co-ordinating a group of Caribbean Ministers meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Airlines in Riyadh, which is being facilitated by Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb. The GCC owns some 13 airlines with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia dominating the market.

“The purpose of this engagement is to bring the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market into the Caribbean. This is a dream that we’ve had and a programme that I’ve worked on for a number of years to build multi-destination tourism and to enable new markets from the far-flung areas to come into the Caribbean,” Mr. Bartlett divulged.

He added that the intention was to have the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay serve as a hub for these airlines and from there distribute to the rest of the region.

Pointing out that this will be the first time that any Caribbean team will be meeting with travel partners in the Middle East for the purpose of attracting new visitors to the region, Minister Bartlett said they will also be meeting with a number of tour operators, travel agents and other airlines.

As one of his assignments at the WTTC Global Summit Mr. Bartlett will also chair a task force on global tourism workers employment arrangement. “The purpose of this task force is to build out a global charter for employment among tourism workers coming out of the recession fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he disclosed.

Stating that there was an awareness that many things had changed, Minister Bartlett said “we recognise that we have to develop a new global tourism labour arrangement that will be more attractive to workers and will enable a more sustainable working ecosystem for the tourism industry.”

Mr Bartlett will participate in the panel discussion on “Enhancing our Resilience” on Tuesday, November 29. He joins Hon. Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Seychelles; Dan Richards, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Global Rescue; Robin Ingle, Chief Executive Officer, Ingle International Inc; Debbie Flynn, Managing Partner, Global Travel Practice Leader, FINN Partners with Arnie Weissmann, Editor in Chief, Travel Weekly as moderator.

The session will explore how the global travel and tourism sector can “use the learnings from COVID-19 to better prepare for crises ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss.”

Several other far-reaching topics of utmost importance to tourism globally, will be explored during the summit, including Travel for a Better Future; To Recovery and Beyond; The Return of Travel and Capitalizing on Untapped Opportunities.

Minister Bartlett is slated to return to the island on December 2, 2022.

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA; November 25, 2022: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that Jamaica's natural resources and geographic location make the island well-positioned to be a leader in the health and wellness tourism industry. He, therefore, called for greater investment to be made in the industry to ensure sustainable growth.

"We can move to build out the health and wellness industry. People are travelling to reclaim their youth, and they are more health conscious than ever before in tourism. What COVID-19 has done is emphasise the need for health and wellness," said Minister Bartlett.

"Jamaica, because of its geographical location and its geophysical features, stands in a good position to capture much of that movement for health and wellness that is now globally evident." "We must therefore invest in it," he added.

The Minister made these remarks yesterday (November 24) during the opening of the 4th annual Jamaica Health and Wellness Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Industry trends have shown that many destinations throughout the world are becoming synonymous with health and healing, and this is even more so since the pandemic, with people travelling far and wide in search of health benefits, both real and promised.

This has led to the natural emergence of health and wellness tourism, whereby people will leave their home countries and travel to other destinations for reactive care, to restore their health, or for more proactive treatments to maintain their health. The Minister, therefore, urged business owners and bankers to look to the health and wellness industry for investments, as the demand for this niche industry has grown exponentially in the post-COVID era.

"I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our bankers and the capital market. But more so to our entrepreneurs, who should look at this option because now more than ever, the demand for health and wellness is at a premium in the world. Because the COVID pandemic harmed the market a little bit, with the market valued at 4.4 trillion dollars in 2019 and now on the rise to 2 trillion, let us stay right there and move with that curve with investments in health and wellness," said the Minister.

He also used the opportunity to announce that his ministry recently met with a team of investors to improve the offerings of two of the island’s natural mineral spas: Bath Fountain in St. Thomas and Milk River in Clarendon.

"We have two of the finest natural spas in the world: the bathing fountain and the milk river. Our enterprise team is working very hard on that. Last month we had a very important consultation with potential investors, and we are looking at divesting those two. We have good calls that are being made on it to transform those two into world-class products to drive more resources into Jamaica and greater revenue flows into the country," said Bartlett.

The Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference was organised by the Tourism Linkages Network, a department of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, over two days to strengthen linkages between the health and wellness sector and other productive sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture and manufacturing, while promoting and showcasing Jamaica’s unique health and wellness tourism offerings.

The Conference brings together leaders in the health and wellness tourism industry from Jamaica and around the world for one of the most important conferences on Jamaica’s tourism schedule.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 24, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that between January and October of this year, farmers sold just under J$125 million of produce through the tourism Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) online platform.

The Minister made this announcement yesterday (November 23) during the launch of the Agricultural Suppliers Food Safety Manual at Devon House, in Kingston.

"The Agri-Linkages Exchange project continues to be beneficial to the 1,200 farmers and 247 buyers who are registered on the platform, and the ALEX Centre continues to engage both farmers and hotels online, facilitated by a team of six Agri-Brokers," said Minister Bartlett.

"I am happy to report that between January and October of this year, just under J$125 million of produce was sold through the website," he added.

ALEX, which is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is the first online platform of its kind in the country. It brings hoteliers into direct contact with the farmers and, in turn, reduces leakages and helps Jamaica retain more of the economic benefits of tourism.

The platform, which can be found at www.agrilinkages.gov.jm, allows farmers to plan to adequately address seasonality in crops and provide information as it relates to the geographic location of specific crops. Registration is also facilitated on the portal.

The Minister also shared that the TEF has been enhancing strawberry farming through its Berry Farming Programme. He noted that 15 farmers are currently producing strawberries through funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), and eight of them currently consistently supply the tourism sector.

These farmers sell between 30 and 40 percent of the strawberries they produce directly to the travel and hospitality industries. In contrast to the past, when all strawberries served in our hotels and restaurants had to be imported, this signifies a source of income for the growers and a savings in foreign exchange for the nation.

"Just to give you an idea of the revenue streams open to strawberry farmers, on average, farmers with one strawberry house currently sell strawberries at $800 per lb. to locals and $1,200 per lb. to retailers, and they are selling 30 lbs. of berries per week and earning spin-off income from selling over 200 strawberry suckers per month at $100 per sucker," said Bartlett.

The Minster also noted that "farmers with three or more strawberry houses" report that they are currently selling strawberries at $1,000 per pound farm gate to hotels, purveyors, and supermarkets. They reap an average of 1,600 pounds per month, which brings them a revenue of $1,600,000. Their annual revenue amounts to $11,200,000 for the next 6–7 months, with approximately $2,794,000 going into operating expenses.

The Agricultural Suppliers Food Safety Manual that was launched by the TEF sets out procedures that adhere to international standards and was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), tourism stakeholders, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

With the input and full backing of these organizations, it is expected that the manual will serve as an information resource for farmers, agri-processors, and manufacturers who supply the tourism sector.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Friday, November 18, 2022:  The long-established relationship between Jamaica and Canada, its second largest tourism market, has been strengthened with an agreement reached yesterday to enter a new era of cooperation and collaboration in tourism, resilience and sustainability.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett and his Canadian counterpart, Hon. Randy Boissonnault, agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) when they met on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Hon. Boissonnault is Canada’s first full-fledged Minister of Tourism but also holds the portfolio of Associate Minister of Finance. Two other key stakeholders in the Parliament Hill meeting were Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada, Her Excellency Sharon Miller and Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maninder Sidhu.

The two ministers agreed on an MOU to share best practices and build capacity in training and human capital development, marketing, investment and the expansion of tourism resilience and sustainability programmes and projects.

Although tourism is Canada’s second largest export and growing, Minister Boissonnault said the industry was never seen as being critical. However, with a changing paradigm, it was now being pursued with new insights and a commitment made to funding and support for a meaningful MOU, recognizing the key role that Jamaica and Canada can play in strengthening global tourism.

The renewed partnership has been welcomed by Minister Bartlett who said Minister Boissonnault was a supporter of the new tourism that has been emerging since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and being the first full-fledged tourism minister for his country was an indication of how important tourism was now being seen.

Minister Bartlett elaborated on the MOU, stating that it will focus heavily on building the capacity of tourism workers and stakeholders of the industry “to provide a greater level of service, but more so to be able to pivot and to respond to different challenges and crises that may appear from time to time.”

An Employment Charter being developed to attract and retain tourism workers has received the backing of the Canadian tourism minister who indicated that he wanted to play an active role in the dialogue relating to the charter leading up to its promulgation at a later date.

“We looked at the wider question of resilience and sustainability, in particular the work of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and Canada will support the Global Tourism Resilience agenda and participate in the Global Tourism Resilience Day activities to take placed in February 2023 at the University of the West Indies,” said Minister Bartlett. Satellite centres of the GTRCMC are to be established at Carlton University in Ottawa, in addition to the one that already exists at George Brown University in Toronto.

The MOU also calls for exchanges to be initiated with Carlton University, George Brown College, and other key technical institutions that are tourism and hospitality oriented.

Minister Bartlett disclosed that Canada and Jamaica will collaborate on a number of initiatives he did not identify but stated that “This was a great encounter. Minister Boissonnault was so happy to meet and has committed full backing of our initiatives.”

Canada and Jamaica have enjoyed a longstanding relationship spanning over 60 years. Canada is also one of the preferred countries for settlement by migrating Jamaicans, with some 350,000 making it their home. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tuesday, November 15, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has reported success in increasing airline seats out of Canada, Jamaica’s second largest visitor market. “So far, we have been successful in commitments that will see the number of airline seats at a record 283,000 out of Canada to Jamaica this winter; 26,000 more seats than was recorded in 2019, pre-COVID-19,” he announced this afternoon. These are from major travel partners such as Air Canada Vacations, WestJet, Transat and Sunwing.

Speaking from Canada, Minister Bartlett said, “The marketing programme for Canada is now in full gear” and supported by Director of Tourism, Donovan White and the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Regional Director for Canada, Angella Bennett, “we are having meetings with our airline partners and tour operators.”

Mr. Bartlett’s working visit to Canada with a number of senior tourism officials will see them engaged in a series of activities between various segments of the market that take in Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa and, he has reported, “we are satisfied that the market has bounced back post-COVID.”

He said the 283,000 seats, “will go a long way in bringing us back to our levels of over 300,000 visitors that we had during the immediate pre-COVID period but the objective is to get to 400,000 where we were in 2010.”

The visit is also being used to launch the JTB’s new “Come Back” campaign and Minister Bartlett contends that “with added inventory coming in Jamaica and a new thrust in terms of the quality product and recognition of the value proposition that Jamaica offers, we are optimistic that in 2023/24 we will see a full recovery of the Canadian market to the levels that we were in the best of times in 2010.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Monday, November 14, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett and a team of senior tourism officials will meet with travel partners and investors in Canada, Jamaica’s second largest visitor market, in an effort to increase arrivals to the destination and foster further investment in the tourism industry.

“While Jamaica’s post-pandemic tourism recovery has been remarkable and we are anticipating a strong winter season, we cannot take our current successes for granted.  We are therefore doubling down on our efforts to increase arrivals out of our main source markets like Canada by engaging our major travel partners like Air Canada Vacations, WestJet, Transat and Sunwing,” said Minister Bartlett.  

“We are also strengthening our marketing effort with the launch of the Jamaica’s new advertising campaign, which will heighten Brand Jamaica’s profile in the tourism space,” the Tourism Minister noted. To this end, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) will launch its new “Come Back” campaign to tour operators, travel agents and trade media  in both Toronto and Montreal.

While in Canada, Minister Bartlett will participate in meetings with key tourism investors as well as give the keynote address at the Jamaica Tourism Investment Forum, which will be held at the Toronto Trade Board Centre on November 16. The event, which have presentation on Jamaica’s tourism outlook and  investment opportunities, will be attended by Canada’s A-list of bankers, real estate brokers and industry companies looking at investment opportunities internationally.

Minister Bartlett noted, “Jamaica’s tourism is ripe for investment with a myriad of opportunities in various areas, including accommodation, attractions, travel technology, agro-tourism, green projects, nutraceuticals, manufacturing as well as supporting infrastructure that improves the visitor experience. We are therefore encouraging players in the international market to explore the many investment opportunities available in the  industry.“

On November  17, Minister Bartlett will attend a  Global Tourism and Resilience Management Forum at Carlton University in Ottawa, which will be attended by university’s faculty and post graduate students.   The engagement is an opportunity to explore the establishment of a satellite centre of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) at the university similar to the one established at Toronto’s George Brown College.

Minister Bartlett left the island today, November 14, 2022, will return on Saturday, November 19, 2022.