KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 27, 2022: Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has offered condolences to the family of Dr. Jean Holder, who was regarded by many in the Caribbean as the "father of regional tourism development."

"Jamaica is proud to have had an association with this great Caribbean man from Barbados, and we are all in his debt. On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, we offer our condolences to his widow, children and the many other key partners, stakeholders and extended family that have embraced and encircled him during his lifetime. May his soul rest in peace," said Bartlett.

Born in Barbados, Dr. Jean Holder spent more than three decades of his professional life developing and enhancing the tourism industry, which has now become the primary source of foreign exchange and economic growth in the region.

Holder, who represented his country for 14 years, was widely known as the face of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for three decades. By the end of his tenure, the CTO became the region's largest tourism marketing and development organization, with 34 Caribbean states and several national, regional, and international private sector travel and tourism organizations and firms as members.

"Dr. Jean Holder is indeed an iconic Caribbean man who has transcended the region into the global space. He has served tourism as a real giant, and we are all the better for it. On his shoulders, so many of the leading Caribbean entrepreneurs, administrators, planners, thinkers, and even ministers have stood as we chart a path to make the Caribbean one of the leading destinations in the world. We mourn his passing, but we glory in his legacy, " said the Minister.

Along with his career in tourism and the Foreign Service, Holder made substantial contributions to Barbados' cultural development. He was the founding chair of the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), which he co-founded in 1973 with other prominent Barbadian artists.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 24, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that Jamaica is undergoing its biggest hotel and resort development boom in any one year, with 8,000 additional hotel rooms in various stages of development and planning, the majority being led by European investors.

Minister Bartlett explained that a total of $2 billion will be invested to bring the 8,000 rooms onstream, resulting in at least 24,000 part-time and full-time jobs and at least 12,000 jobs for construction workers.

Given the magnitude of the investments, Bartlett has expressed the need for seamless coordination, led and anchored by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, as well as multi-ministerial cooperation. Prime Minister Holness and Minister Bartlett are scheduled to participate in several ground-breaking ceremonies in the coming weeks and months.

"We are delighted with the developments in the local tourism industry, which will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the economy and directly benefit thousands of Jamaicans. Indeed, tourism is a supply chain industry that spans multiple economic sectors, including construction, agriculture, manufacturing, banking, and transportation," said Bartlett.

At least 12,000 construction workers, multiple building contractors, engineers, project managers, and a variety of other specialists will be necessary to assure the timely completion of these projects. Additionally, thousands of tourism workers must be trained in areas such as management, culinary, housekeeping, tour guides, and reception, " he added.

Properties currently under construction include the 2,000-room Princess Resort in Hanover, which will become Jamaica's largest resort, and another nearly 2,000 rooms in the multifaceted Hard Rock Resort development, which should consist of at least three other hotel brands. Additionally, just under 1,000 rooms are being built by Sandals and Beaches in St. Ann.

Plans are also underway for the Viva Wyndham Resort north of Negril to have a total of 1,000 rooms, the new RIU Hotel in Trelawny with approximately 700 rooms, and a new Secrets Resort in the Richmond area of St. Ann with around 700 rooms. Bahia Principe has also announced massive expansion plans, by its owners, Grupo Piñero, out of Spain.

Bartlett recently returned from FITUR, the world's most important annual international travel and tourism trade show, in Madrid, Spain. While there, he participated in a series of high-level meetings with primarily Spanish investors, many of whom own resorts in Jamaica.

Bartlett, who was accompanied by Delano Seiveright, Senior Advisor and Strategist, pointed out that: "To successfully finish major investment projects in record time, an all-hands-on-deck, joined-up government and private sector approach is required."

"Environmental considerations and collaboration with local stakeholders are also prominent in the developments. Minister Bartlett has tasked the Tourism Enhancement Fund's Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation to take strategic steps to ensure that current effective worker training and certification programs are expanded in collaboration with hoteliers who have pledged to work closely with the government on this issue," added Seiveright.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 21, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that Jamaica and Spain will craft a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on various aspects of tourism development and economic transformation.

The announcement follows a meeting with Spain's Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, Hon. Reyes Maroto, earlier today at FITUR, the world's most significant annual international travel and tourism trade show now underway in Madrid, Spain. In addition to the Dominican Republic, which is this year's FITUR Partner Country, FITUR brings together almost a hundred countries with seventy official representations.

"I am very pleased to announce that Jamaica and Spain will develop a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in various areas of tourism development. Minister Morato and I today had extensive discussions regarding various areas of recovery and the reimagining of tourism as a driver of economic growth and transformation," said Bartlett.

"We discussed the role of the United Nations World Tourism Organization as a critical institution for securing the academic and practical applications necessary to redevelop the new tourism that will enable small countries and small and medium-sized players to have a more equitable experience and to recover much of the lost revenue," he added.

Bartlett also used the opportunity to invite Minister Morato to Jamaica's first-ever Global Tourism Resilience Day, scheduled for February 17th, 2022, at the World Expo in Dubai. The day will focus on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international and global shocks and be able to predict with greater certainty their responses. It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most importantly, it will help them manage and recover quickly after these shocks.

"Jamaica is indeed a thought leader in this area, and we are committed to working with all our partners to build a stronger, more effective, and resilient world that can respond better to shocks that will come as we continue on this journey of life," expressed Bartlett.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 20, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett had brief discussions in Spain today with President of the Dominican Republic (DR), His Excellency Luis Abinader and other top DR officials to strengthen tourism relations. This will in part result in a new level of multi-destinational tourism aimed at redefining how tourism functions in the region.

The move comes as Minister Bartlett and a small team attend FITUR, the world's largest annual international travel and tourism tradeshow, currently being held in Madrid, Spain.

"Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will enter a new era of ‘co-petition,’ that is, collaboration and cooperation in tourism development rather than the traditional competition that has been a feature of the pre-COVID tourism arrangements in the Caribbean. The country's President is here at FITUR for an entire week along with Minister David Collado, the Minister of Tourism, and the commitment is for us to work together to build tourism in the region," said Minister Bartlett.

The leaders also discussed the possibility of launching a multi-destination marketing campaign, one of three legacy outcomes from the November 2017 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) global conference in Montego Bay, which urged Caribbean governments and the private sector to collaborate to advance regional integration through the promotion and harmonization of legislation on air connectivity, visa facilitation, and product development.

"Leading this programme is an exciting feature of the way forward for tourism in the Caribbean, and the essence of this will lead, in fact, to a level of multi-destination tourism that will redefine the way tourism functions in the region. But more importantly, it will set the stage for expanding the market within our area to meet the larger and more exciting players within the global industry and attract the mega-airlines that bring long-haul passengers into the Caribbean," Bartlett explained.

We are excited about the prospects of a new era for tourism development, and Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are at the centre of this," he added.

Bartlett also shared that debt management and funding were also at the heart of the discussions he had at FITUR to help stakeholders who were hardest hit by the pandemic to rebuild. He spoke to the President of Banco Popular, Ignacio Alvarez, which is the largest tourism bank in the Caribbean, to discuss elements of debt management in a sector that is hugely affected by credit arrangements because of the pandemic and the halt in economic activity within the tourism space for over a year.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Wednesday, January 12, 2022: Jamaica’s tourism industry recorded a historic worldwide first today with the launch of the long-awaited Tourism Workers Pension Scheme (TWPS), which will benefit hundreds of thousands of persons, directly and indirectly, employed in the industry.

Speaking at today’s official launch at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said it was a first for Jamaica as “there is no other country in the world that has a comprehensive tourism workers pension plan.” While most other pension plans relate to different companies or entities, Jamaica’s Tourism Workers Pension Scheme embraces all workers, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders.

The TWPS, which had been in the making for 14 years, was rolled out with Guardian Life as Fund Administrators and Sagicor Group Jamaica as Fund Managers. More than half of the $1 billion seed money provided by the Government of Jamaica has already been disbursed to the scheme.

Emotionally recounting the genesis of the pension scheme, Minister Bartlett recalled that nearly 15 years ago at an annual breakfast with workers at the Norman Manley International Airport, at the start of a winter tourist season, “we saw a Red Cap porter who was 78 years old, still pushing the trolley with loads on it. I said, how long have you been doing this? He said 45 years. So I said, why are you still doing this after 45 years? And he said, if I don’t do this at this age, I will not be able to buy my medication; worse, I might not be able to buy my food.”

Minister Bartlett said he felt that “something is wrong with this picture, as nobody is supposed to be working in any industry, albeit the industry that I am leading, and is compelled at 78 to continue to push heavy loads because there is no recourse.”

Supported by the Tourism Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms. Jennifer Griffith, a resolution was made then that “we have to do something about it; we have to create a pension plan.”

Participants in the plan are protected by state legislation, with the Financial Services Commission managing the surveillance and regulatory framework to safeguard against breaches and unscrupulous behaviour. Also, a tourism worker is to be included on the TWPS Board of Trustees.

Minister Bartlett said the pension fund could become $1 trillion in ten years. He noted that, “this is not just a game-changer but a huge bit of economic initiative.”

He further explained that “a pension fund the size of what this is likely to be will create a body of capital that is going to change the ability of more people, more institutions to be able to create wealth.”

Also welcoming and lauding the fund as a game-changer was President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Mr. Clifton Reader; President of Guardian Life, Mr. Eric Hosin; EVP & Chief Investment Officer at Sagicor Group, Mr. Sean Newman; and Chairman of the TWPS Board of Trustees, Mr. Ryan Parkes.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 17, 2021:  Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett will attend the highly anticipated annual international travel and tourism tradeshow, FITUR, in Madrid, Spain, from January 19 to 23, 2022.

"Jamaica is delighted to be returning to one of our industry's most eagerly anticipated annual gatherings. There are several investment opportunities in the works for Jamaica that I believe will have a significant impact on how we continue to recover from the effects of this pandemic," Bartlett said.

During his visit to Madrid, the Minister will meet with potential investors and key industry stakeholders. These include Robert Cabrera, owner of the Princess Resort, regarding a 2000-room development currently underway in Hanover; Diego Fuentes, Chairman and CEO of the Tourism Optimizer Platform; representatives of RIU Hotels & Resorts regarding a 700-room hotel in Trelawny as well as other investors to discuss major projects in the pipeline.

On Monday, January 17, he will attend a press conference hosted by Grupo Piñero to announce a strategic alliance between the Spanish tourism company, Bid Invest and Banco Popular Dominicano for the development and growth of tourism in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. The Grupo Piñero-owned Bahia Principe, Jamaica’s largest resort, is considering a major expansion project.

Minister Bartlett will also meet with Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Massimo Garavaglia, Italian Minister of Tourism.

The Madrid tourism fair is the largest gathering of tourism professionals globally, as well as the leading fair for Latin America's receptive and issuing markets. It is also Spain's largest tourism event, with over 250,000 attendees from all over the world, in terms of innovation and promotion of new tourism segments, technological leadership in tourism management, and knowledge transfer tools.

This annual event, according to its organizers, has a 330 million euro economic impact, directly affecting the recovery of tourism and the revitalization of tourism-related sectors in Madrid.

While in Madrid, the Minister will also make several media appearances and meet with Spanish tour operators. He left the island on Saturday, January 15 and will return on Saturday, January 23.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 17, 2022:  Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, today in Madrid, Spain spoke at the official launch of a strategic alliance between international tourism giant Grupo Piñero which owns Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group private sector arm, IDB Invest, and Banco Popular Dominicano to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth through tourism in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The agreement will result in an investment of US$200 million in Grupo Pinero’s Bahia resorts in both countries.

The agreement was possible as the three institutions share the belief that tourism can help local economies grow while simultaneously encouraging inclusive and sustainable tourism.

"Tourism is the world's fastest and most immediate convertible economic activity. Therefore, this particular action today is so critical to the development of the Caribbean and the world. A statement is being made here about how we create the debt rearrangement and the financial infusion to enable faster recovery. That fast recovery must not be irresponsible, and that’s why the elements that deal with sustainability and resilience are so important,” said Bartlett.

The funding will assist Grupo Piñero in moving forward with the reopening and start-up of our hotels, as well as provide a boost in this stage of recovery and post-pandemic growth. Similarly, a revitalization of tourism activity in a sustainable manner that, in turn, allows for the attainment of a balance in the economic, social, and environmental fields.

Bartlett commended the partners, noting that the alliance being formed will have positive returns for the people of Jamaica. He shared that public-private collaborations of this nature are very important to boost the sector's competitiveness and put tourism at the service of recovery in the most efficient way possible.

"I congratulate all the teams who are involved in this programme today. The recovery of tourism is going to be predicated on strong business responses — private-public partnerships that will enable sustainability, " said the Minister.

Among those in attendance were President of the Dominican Republic, Hon. Luis Abinader, the Dominican Republic's Minister of Tourism, Hon. David Collado; Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Piñero, owners of the Bahia Principe Hotels, Encarna Piñero and Senior Advisor and Strategist in Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright.

Grupo Piñero is a Spanish tourism group founded by Pablo Piñero in 1977. They have 27 hotels worldwide, including Bahia Principe Grand, which is the largest hotel in Jamaica.

Bartlett is leading a small team in Spain to participate in the highly anticipated annual international travel and tourism tradeshow, FITUR, in from January 19 to 23, 2022.

During his visit to Madrid, the Minister will meet with potential investors and key industry stakeholders. These include Robert Cabrera, owner of the Princess Resort, regarding a 2000-room development currently underway in Hanover; Diego Fuentes, Chairman and CEO of the Tourism Optimizer Platform; representatives of RIU Hotels & Resorts regarding a 700-room hotel in Trelawny as well as other investors to discuss major projects in the pipeline.

He will also make several media appearances and meet with Spanish tour operators. He left the island on Saturday, January 15 and will return on Saturday, January 23.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 11, 2022: Jamaica's largest hotel, Bahia Principe, has announced the appointment of Brian Sang as its first Jamaican Country Manager. The news was welcomed by Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett who noted that the announcement is in keeping with his Ministry's goal of having more Jamaicans in leadership roles within the sector.

"I was very pleased to learn that Bahia has appointed a Jamaican as their new country manager. This forms a critical part of the continued human resource thrust that we have been promoting at the Ministry of Tourism, to ensure that as many Jamaicans as possible will be in leadership positions within the sector, "said Bartlett.

"I wholeheartedly welcome Mr. Sang and wish him a successful tenure, which begins in the company's 15th year in Jamaica," he added.

The Minister made these remarks earlier today, during a meeting at his New Kingston offices. During the discussions with the executives from the hotel, he also highlighted the critical work being done by the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) to train hospitality workers to better meet the sector's needs, while also qualifying them to fill more leadership roles.

"As part of our commitment to building Jamaica's human capital, we developed a training arm called the JCTI, which has done an excellent job of enabling the training and certification of the hospitality industry's labour force. This is crucial for our tourism industry's continued growth and competitiveness," said Bartlett.

JCTI is a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), a public body of the Ministry of Tourism. Since the initiative began four years ago, over 8,000 Jamaican tourism workers have received professional certification. This has been made possible through strategic partnerships with the Human Employment and Resource Training/National Service Training Agency Trust (HEART/NSTA Trust), Universal Service Fund (USF), National Restaurants Association (NRA), and the AHLEI. Currently, 45 candidates are preparing for their culinary arts certification offered by the American Culinary Federation (ACF).

The meeting was attended by senior tourism officials, as well as a team from the Bahia Principe Resort, including the Chief Operating Officer, Antonio Teijeiro; Executive Director of Hotel Development and Innovation, Marcus Christiansen; outgoing Country Manager, Adolfo Fernández; Director of International Organization and Corporate Social Responsibility, Fabian Brown; and newly appointed Country Manager, Brian Sang.

Sang joins Bahia following a string of successful tenures and noteworthy eras in the hotel, tourism, and hospitality management industries. His most recent leadership role was as the Cluster General Manager for Blue Diamond Resort in St. Lucia.

The outgoing director, Adolfo Fernandez, assumed a new role in Spain within the group on January 6th, 2022.

Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts is a resort division of Grupo Piñero that began operations in 1995 with its first hotel in Rio San Juan on the Dominican Republic's northern coast. Grupo Piñero's Bahia Principe hotel chain also has properties in the Riviera Maya in Mexico and Spain in the Canaries and Balearic Islands.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 07, 2022: Jamaica's Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett was today interviewed on the UK's Sky News, one of the largest news organizations in the world, to discuss the island's COVID-19 recovery efforts and impressive Winter Tourist Season figures.

In the interview, which took place during the Ian King Live show, Bartlett highlighted that tourism is the driving force behind the island's economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have had three executive quarters of growth, starting with 13 per cent in the first quarter, 7.8 in the second and now we are at 5.8 in the third. Tourism has been the driver. We have had just a little over 1.6 million visitors for the year so far, and we earned a little over US$2 billion," said Bartlett.

He added that "more than 80,000 workers have returned to the industry since the recovery began, and the inter-linkages between tourism and the various sectors have grown and responded well.

During the interview, Bartlett also noted that, based on current trends, the industry is set to see pre-pandemic arrival figures by the end of next year.

"We are now at about 60% of our 2019 arrival figures. We expect that by the end of 2023, going into 2024, we should go back to our 2019 figures and then grow beyond that. This will allow us to reach the targets we have set for ourselves of 5 million visitors and earning US$5 million for the people of Jamaica," said the Minister.

Despite the prevalence of COVID-19 on the island, the Minister stated that the health and safety measures in place have effectively limited the virus's spread, particularly in high-traffic tourist areas.

The island has been able to do this by developing Tourism Resilience Corridors, which have a 0.1 per cent infection rate. The corridors span most of the island's tourism districts. This allows visitors to experience more of the country's distinctive offerings since the health authorities have authorised visits to several COVID-19-compliant attractions located along the corridors.

"The corridor is a bubble that enables visitors to enjoy the full extent of the experiences that they seek while preventing them from becoming involved in the wider community activities that may assist in spreading the virus. We have also established the Jamaica Cares programme, which is a significant initiative that provides an end-to-end security arrangement for the visitors and the protection of our locals, " he said. 

Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via a radio news service and online media. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; December 24, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has hailed a multi-million US dollar investment by Sandals Resorts International as the kind of positive development that needs to be highlighted amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sandals is currently carrying out over US$350 million in investments in Jamaica, with more to follow as it expands and upgrades several properties. 

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for High Grove Village, which was officially opened at Sandals Royal Caribbean, Montego Bay, yesterday (December 23), Minister Bartlett hailed Sandals founder, the late Gordon “Butch” Stewart saying he had left a legacy that was world-renowned and was playing a major role in making Jamaica stand out as the premier resort destination in the Caribbean.

“I think the legacy that “Butch” has left the world by way of this iconic and most aspirational addition to the tourism landscape, Sandals, is indeed in great hands, and I want to commend Adam and the team for carrying this legacy so well,” said Bartlett. He also highlighted Sandals moving forward with its development of high-end luxury products as “something that not only inspires us in the industry but gives us a great moment of delight and pride.”  

Minister Bartlett said arising from his promotional tours over the past six months, “We have detected an appetite for the Jamaican experience, and we’re also seeing a desire to engage Jamaican brands.”

Speaking on the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Bartlett said while there was a concern for emerging variants, there was so much more good news, including that the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) at the University of the West Indies had received special recognition as the World’s Leading Tourism Initiative at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021 held in Dubai last week. 

“This is a signature statement of how the tourism product in Jamaica has developed and how the intellectual and academic elements have come together to give us a quantum leap in terms of understanding how to manage disruptions and how to prepare ourselves for waves of disruptions such as pandemics,” said Minister Bartlett. He added that it was, therefore, necessary “to take note of what’s happening and to glory in what we’re doing rather than to be negative.”

Sandals Executive Chairman Adam Stewart disclosed that “We are looking at over US$350 investment in Jamaica and that doesn’t include Dunn’s River Phase 2.” Current projects include expansion of Sandals Royal Caribbean with 84 rooms, including a 48-suite High Grove Village, officially opened yesterday. Additional investment is slated for next year on Sandals Dunn’s River, Sandals Negril and US$250 million on Beaches Runaway Bay.