KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 5, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has underscored that the addition of new flights into the island out of key markets is crucial to the tourism recovery effort, as Jamaica welcomed flights out of the Canadian and European travel markets yesterday.

In just 4 hours on Sunday (July 4), Jamaica witnessed the return of Air Canada from the Canadian market and Condor from Frankfurt, Germany with a Swiss flight out of Zurich, operated by Edelweiss Air, scheduled for Monday evening, all landing at the Sangster International Airport. Minister Bartlett welcomed their arrival which he said was “very important to the tourism recovery effort” following the global shut down of international air travel due to COVID-19.

Air Canada is back after six months with a weekly flight using its Dreamliner aircraft and a plan to go daily soon, while Condor’s rotation is twice weekly until September and the Zurich flight is a first for direct flights between the two cities.

The Minister said these points underscored “that Jamaica’s management of the pandemic and indeed the quality of the product that we have maintained and the connectivity that we have preserved during this interim period, have done us well” and recovery was taking place even faster than had been anticipated.

Minister Bartlett pointed out that in the last three months weekend arrivals have been significant with an average of 15,000 visitors over a three-day period, and with new flights coming in the numbers will increase significantly with the projection for the year now at approximately 1.8 million.

This, he added, meant that jobs and revenue flow were coming back at a faster rate than anticipated. “We’re excited at the prospect therefore of continued growth and I reiterate that the continued development of the industry, the growth of our economy and the resumption of jobs is a function of the responsibility of all of us and we must continue to observe protocols, uphold the principles of good management of the entire area, including the Resilient Corridors which have proven to be one of the powerful marketing tools for Jamaica.”

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has played a major role in marketing the flights and JTB’s Regional Director for Canada, Angella Bennett said: “There’s been a surge in bookings coming into Jamaica from Canada since the Government of Canada has lifted the restrictions on international travel.” She said expectations were high for the Canadian market “to perform exceptionally well this winter” and over 280,000 seats had already been secured. The Dreamliner with a 298-seat capacity is the latest carrier in the Air Canada fleet and is being flown to Jamaica for the first time.

Captain Geoff Wall was also excited at returning, admitting the welcome “really make us feel like we’re coming home so it’s good to be back.” He said after COVID-19: “It’s just nice to be able to leave Canada, bring Canadian tourists and locals back to Jamaica to be with their families, enjoy what is normally a sunshiny place and the hospitality as well.”

Arriving on board the Condor flight, JTB’s Regional Director for Continental Europe, Gregory Shervington said the flight was previously set for last year but got pushed back a number of times because of the pandemic. He said Condor represented a solid connection with Germany over the past 20 years “and it is the precursor to more coming, including Monday’s flight out of Zurich and on Wednesday we’ll have Lufthansa with its sister airline Eurowings Discover coming back with three non-stop flights.”

The new flights have been welcomed also by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and the office of the mayor of Montego Bay. JHTA’s Chapter Chairman, Nadine Spence was particularly pleased with the return of Air Canada, noting that “Canada is one of our favoured destinations, contributing over 22 percent of all tourism arrivals.” She said the return showed that there was confidence in travelling and that “Jamaica is a loved destination.”

Deputy Mayor, Richard Vernon was also “happy to have these airlines back.” He said: “This means a lot to us; we really benefit immensely from tourism here in Montego Bay and numerous persons have been unemployed since March of last year and because of this we can expect persons to go back to work.”

Resumption of Cruise Dependent on Higher Vaccination Levels of the Population

KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 2, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says based on current projections he expects the full return of the cruise industry in Jamaica between August and October of this year. This he notes is dependent on COVID-19 management and an increased percentage of vaccinated persons across the island.

The Minister made the declaration during JMMB’s ‘Thought Leadership Webinar’ recently, where he was the keynote speaker.

“Our cruise partners are now champing at the bit to come back into Caribbean waters. However, the extent of our own preparedness, from a COVID-19 management point of view, will determine how fast they actually come in. Vaccination is of course the big elephant in the room and for most of us in the region, we are at very low vaccination levels. We need to build that out and to put ourselves in a position to see highly vaccinated people and for them to move around seamlessly,” expressed Bartlett.

The Minister was adamant that based on current forcasts, the island will not see the full return of cruise until late August to October of 2021.

“I think that August to October in that three month window will be when you will see a full resumption of cruise. We may see one or two smaller vessels coming in, perhaps in August. However, my take on the matter is October seems to me the outer month for us to see cruise coming back to the region. If we don’t get it back in that time, we are going to be in trouble,” said the Minister.

The Ministry of Tourism has been actively working for the return of cruise this summer, utilizing a collaborative approach that will bring greater value for passengers, cruise lines and Destination Jamaica. 

Several areas have been examined in discussions with the island’s cruise partners, including more meaningful linkages, homeporting, multiple calls, increased jobs, increased value to local brands and improving the passenger experience, which should translate into higher spend per passenger. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 30, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jamaica National Small Business Loans Ltd (JNSBL) to make $70 million accessible to operators in the tourism ground transportation sub-sector, who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Bartlett made the announcement as he provided an update on the recovery of the tourism sector in Parliament yesterday (June 29).

“I am happy to announce that we have finalized plans for our latest relief initiative for tourism workers. The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has put in motion an injection of J$70 million to support tourism ground transportation operators who have suffered tremendously from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive downturn in tourism over the last year,” Minister Bartlett expressed.

“The loans, become accessible at any JN Branch starting July 1, 2021 and will be offered at zero percent interest rate; with an 8-month moratorium on the principal and a maximum repayment period of three years, with no processing fees,” Minister Bartlett said.

The loan facility was first announced by Minister Bartlett during his Sectoral Debate closing presentation in Parliament on June 15. During his presentation, Mr. Bartlett described the TEF intervention as “The Default Clearance Loan.”

He explained that it can be accessed from JNSBL and will allow borrowers to receive up to a maximum of J$1 million in monthly instalments for up to 12 months.

Minister Bartlett had also outlined that: “It was agreed that the loans will be unsecured, as the challenges surrounding collateralizing the loans will prevent some operators from accessing the facility, especially those who are in the greatest need of this form of aid to remain sustainable.”

In collaboration with JNSBL, the application process has been made easy, and to facilitate even more applicants, the TEF has secured the services of certified accountants to assist the applicants in preparing the Cash Flow Statements that are required as part of the application.

Minister Bartlett outlined that the accountants have facilitated over 40 drivers since Saturday, June 26th, 2021, with others currently being assisted.  

The introduction of the loan facility follows appeals by members of the transportation sub-sector for assistance.

In a recent virtual forum hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network (TLN), on how tourism has impacted other sectors, President of the Jamaica Co-operative Automobile and Limousine Tours (JCAL), Brian Thelwell, underscored the importance of ground transportation to tourism and called for financial support for operators to prepare them for the recovery of the industry. He implored banks in particular, to be more lenient with those having outstanding loans.

“The COVID-19 Relief loan facility will be available to members of JUTA, JCAL and MAXI ground transportation providers who must meet a number of eligibility criteria,” Mr. Bartlett said.

More than 5,000 transport operators in the tourism sector have been impacted negatively by the forced lockdown of the tourism sector last year, due to the pandemic.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 25, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that Jamaica and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to sign a document of intent, to aid in boosting air connectivity between the Middle East and the Caribbean.

The Minister made the announcement following a series of meetings with His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, who is currently in Jamaica for the 66th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas. The meeting also included several regional Ministers of Tourism who joined the discussions virtually.

“We talked about air connectivity and how to link the Middle East, the Asian market, and the areas within that side of the world to join us through the mega airlines that are in those areas. Particularly the Etihad, the Emirates and Saudi airlines,” said Bartlett.

“The agreement that we have coming out of that is that Minister Al Khateeb will bring to the table, those major partners, while I will be responsible for coordinating with the countries that are cooperating with us in the multi-destination tourism framework, to enable a Hub and Spoke arrangement so that traffic can move from the Middle East and come into our area and have distribution from one country to the next,” he added.

He further explained that the multi-destination arrangement is critical to the development of tourism in the region as it is “a new formula within this area to drive connectivity across the globe, but more so to broaden the market to create the critical mass that is needed to attract larger airlines and the big tour operators to become interested in us and have a stronger movement of tourism within our area.”

Bartlett noted that this arrangement will be a game-changer for the Caribbean as it will allow new markets to have direct connectivity to the region, thus increasing earnings, especially for small and medium tourism enterprises.

“For us this is a game-changer in the making, because small countries like Jamaica will never have the capacity to have large airlines like Qatar and Emirates coming to us from direct flights. However, we can benefit from these airlines coming into the Caribbean space – landing here in Jamaica but having distribution to other countries in the Caribbean,” he explained.

Dialogue about this arrangement is expected to continue over the next few days, with the hopes of a memorandum of understanding being finalised.

Minister Al Khateeb, expressed gratitude for being invited to Jamaica to participate in discussions that will aid in strengthening connectivity between the Middle East and the Caribbean.

“We discussed with my colleagues, very critical topics and we are in support of creating bridges between the Middle East and the Caribbean. I thank Minister Bartlett for this opportunity and look forward to expanding the corporation for expanding the Middle East and the Caribbean,” said Al Khateeb.

During the meeting, they also discussed other areas of possible collaboration, including human capital development, community tourism and building resilience within the region.

“One of the key areas that we discussed was the development of resilience and crisis management, as well as sustainability as critical pillars on which the recovery of tourism must be predicated. But more so, the importance of building capacity within countries that have tourism as the driver of their economies - countries that are weakly resourced and vulnerable to disruptions. We are going to see collaboration in the building out of the resilience centre here in Jamaica and the resilience centre that is in Saudi Arabia,” said Bartlett.

Minister Al Khateeb shared similar sentiments regarding the importance of building resilience and sustainability, to the future of the industry.

“We all know that tourism represents 10% of the global GDP before the crisis and 10% of global jobs.  Unfortunately, the industry was hit hard by the pandemic, and we lost a lot in 2020 and now with the vaccine and the opening of many countries borders, we started the discussion about how the world will look in the future and started planning for post-COVID and learning from the challenges,” he said.

“So, sustainability is a very important topic. We want to create more resilience in the future and a more sustainable industry – one that respects the environment and culture,” added Al Khateeb.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 24, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is calling on global and regional tourism stakeholders to redouble their efforts to facilitate the speedy recovery of the international tourism industry and by extension the global economy. Minister Bartlett made the call as he chaired the blended staging of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) 66th Regional Commission of the Americas (CAM), today (June 24^th).

Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb and Minister of Tourism and International Transport for Barbados, Senator, the Hon. Lisa Cummins, are among the global tourism leaders who have travelled to Jamaica to attend the CAM meeting. Senator Cummins also chairs the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). The tourism officials also participated in the Ministerial Dialogue on the reactivation of the tourism sector for inclusive growth.

Minister Bartlett highlighted that “international tourism receipts in 2020 declined by 64% in real terms, equivalent to a drop of over US$ 900 billion, while the total loss in export revenues from international tourism amount to nearly US$ 1.1 trillion.”

He added that “the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector in the Americas saw a 68% decrease in international tourist arrivals in 2020, recording 70 million down from the 219 million recorded in 2019.” He lamented that according to the UNWTO’s ninth report on travel restrictions, 10 destinations in the Americas, or 20% of all destinations in the region, had completely closed their borders as of February 1, 2021, with a downward trend in air traffic.  

While hoping for more positive trends moving forward Mr. Bartlett stressed that “the call now, is to redouble our efforts to work together in practical and meaningful ways for a return to the successful days of travel and tourism.” He said “I hope that one outcome of this meeting, including the Ministerial Dialogue, will be not only a reiteration of our commitment and political will but at least one concrete step that the region can take together to reactivate tourism.”

Secretary-General of the UNWTO, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, in underscoring the need to expedite the recovery of the tourism sector said “we can’t leave anyone behind in this process… Time is crucial, many families especially in the Caribbean do not have another way out of this. It is the main source of income for them and many people and many kids and many families are depending on this income.” 

Minister Al Khateeb underscored the need for greater collaboration in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a global problem and the solution has to come from everybody and therefore we have to collaborate and we have to work together,” he expressed. He also called for clear and unified protocols to facilitate the rebound of the tourism sector.

Tourism Ministry Projects US$1.93 Billion in Earnings from 1.61 million visitors in 2021

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 22, 2021:  Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that since its reopening in June 2020, the tourism sector has been driving the economic recovery of Jamaica’s economy, through a steady increase in arrivals and tourism earnings.

Minister Bartlett expressed that “preliminary figures indicate that since the reopening of the tourism sector on June 15, 2020, Jamaica has recorded a total of 816,632 stopover visitors and generated earnings of approximately US$1.31 billon (J$196 billion), over the one-year period.”

“The earnings from the sector included US$1.2 billion in visitor expenditure; US$28 million in departure taxes; US$19.5 million in passenger fees and charges; US$16.3 million in airline passenger levy; US$8.5 million in hotel room taxes and US$8.1 million in airport improvement fees,” he explained.

He emphasised that this is further proof that the tourism sector is on a steady path to recovery. Minister Bartlett adds that “for the current calendar year, the Tourism Ministry is reforecasting to deliver 1.61 million visitors against an earlier estimate of 1.15 million, an improvement of 460,000 more visitors.”

“Tourism recovery is on the horizon. Our tourism sector is rising like a phoenix from the ashes. This more positive outlook for 2021 will also improve the destination’s estimate of earnings from US$1.6 billion to US$1.93 billion, an improvement of US$330 million,” said Bartlett.

The Minister credits this improvement, in part, to the development of robust health and safety protocols for the sector as well as the establishment of the Tourism COVID-19 Resilient Corridors, which have seen a very low infection rate of 0.6%.

He also noted that the measures enabled Jamaica to welcome some 342,948 tourists during the first five months of this year (January to May).

He indicated that estimated earnings, for the period January 2021 to the end of May 2021 is US$514.9 million or roughly J$77 billion.

“May 2021 showed a remarkable increase in visitor arrivals and overall stopover arrivals, increasing steadily from mid-month consistently to the end of the month. Load factors recorded for May 2021 averaged 73.5%, this is against the forecasted 50% average load factor for 2021, 9.3% less than the 83.1% load factor achieved in May 2019,” he explained.

The Ministry remains cautiously optimistic of cruise passengers starting to return around July/August. The first cruise out of North America to the Caribbean took place very recently and that has heightened expectations of more setting sail soon.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; June 21, 2021: Preparations are in high gear to enable Jamaican producers to better meet the demands of a revived tourism industry. To this end, the Ministry of Tourism is working in tandem with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, and has initiated a series of high level meetings to finalize the requisite arrangements.

Two crucial meetings were held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on the weekend with representatives from the agricultural sector: One meeting involving the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), to discuss the supply chain for meat and meat cuts, and agricultural produce, and the other with the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, exploring supply chain issues.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said the highly anticipated consultations were being undertaken in order to address issues relating to the supply side of the sector. He noted that the discussions were: “In the vein of reimagining tourism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and to drive the new production and consumption patterns that we require to enable more local Jamaicans to be connected to the tourism value chain.” This is aimed at ensuring that a larger percentage of the tourism dollar stays in Jamaica and more jobs created.

The meetings, spearheaded by Minister Bartlett and Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, were welcomed as they facilitated dialogue with purveyors of goods that are sold to tourism players, followed by a discussion with the hoteliers. “The first element of this arrangement is to have a sense of what the demand is by hearing from the hotels then to hear from the agricultural producers what it is that they can supply,” Mr. Bartlett disclosed.

“The picture emerging from this consultation is that the tourism industry is saying we are ready to start buying local in a fulsome way; what we want is for the local capacity to be developed to ensure the consistency of supply, the quantity and quality and that the price is good,” said Minister Bartlett. He highlighted that “those four factors will influence greatly a higher degree of purchasing from our local providers” and the discussion will continue towards assuring suppliers and purchasers of consistency on both sides.

Chairman of the Tourism Linkages Council, Adam Stewart and Chairman of the Agricultural Sub-Committee, Wayne Cummings will meet with agricultural stakeholders in the next two weeks to fine tune the demand requirements and supply capabilities.

Additionally, Mr. Bartlett said discussions had been initiated with the banking sector to be a part of the drive to facilitate the full recovery of the tourism industry.

He expressed confidence that tourism was showing signs of recovery “and this is why we’re moving so fast to bring the partners together because the pandemic brought tourism literally to a halt and what it meant is that we were all at point zero, and this is a good time to bring the partners together so that we build back together.” 

Minister Bartlett underscored that all parties growing together would augur well for the industry and that all Jamaicans stand to benefit from a unified approach.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 17, 2021:  As part of efforts to boost the competitiveness of the local tourism product, which has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism will be developing an Innovation-based Tourism Incubator (ITI). The initiative, led by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, will support entrepreneurs in converting innovative ideas into viable businesses.

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett made the announcement during his Sectoral Debate closing presentation in Gordon House recently, under the theme: Recovering Faster, Stronger and Better.

“We believe that tourism is driven by ideas and these ideas have the power to drive the creation of experiences. The ability to convert ideas into material goods and services is the key to differentiating your destination…. And so, the Ministry of Tourism intends to establish a tourism incubator to nurture new and start-up enterprises,” said Minister Bartlett.

This Innovation-Based Business Incubator will provide a unique and highly flexible combination of services, including business support services and infrastructure. It will also nurture these entrepreneurs and support them through the early stages of development and execution.

To deliver these services, TEF will be working with existing stakeholders, but will also seek to expand the list of potential partners. These include, the University of Technology Jamaica, the University of the West Indies (Mona), Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).

“We will also be seeking partnerships for the provision of grants and loans to support the development and commercialisation of ideas generated from the incubator,” said the Minister. 

The TEF will then take decisive steps by 2023 to foster innovative ideas on how Jamaica can differentiate the destination from our competition.

The business ideas will be assessed based on various criteria. The ITI will only accept ideas that are an innovation and will enhance the tourism sector. The ITI will also only support original ideas that are useful, or practical in nature from its function to its design.  The idea must also have a significant effect on the tourism industry.

“I want to make it clear that the idea does not have to be an invention. It is not necessarily bringing new things from scratch but is about adding value to what you have. Be creative and ensure that you can do more with what you have,” said Bartlett.

The initiative will start with an open call to all members of the public who have ideas for new tourism products or services, to submit their ideas for review by a panel. Successful candidates will be invited to a boot camp, which will provide participants with the training and support needed to develop their business idea, business model and business plan; develop minimum viable products (MVPs) etc. and to boost the chances of arriving at an effective start-up.

They will then be invited to participate in a “Shark Tank” style Investor Selection Event, to make their product/service pitch to the panellists, who will include potential investors. The ITI will operate virtually and execute its mandate for each entrepreneur over a 2-year period.

“If the investors are not interested, we will then direct the entrepreneurs to the EXIM Bank where we have invested $1 billion to enable loans for small and medium tourism enterprises. They will also have the option to seek assistance from the Jamaica National Bank, where we have $200 million for a similar purpose,” said the Minister.

“In other words we are saying, incentivise ideas, remove the need for collateral where young people have no assets but have ideas and let us convert ideas into practical goods that can change the lives of the people of our country,” he added.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 16, 2021: The resort city of Montego Bay is to undergo a major transformation of its seafront, as part of efforts to boost its global appeal and competitiveness. Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett yesterday announced in Parliament, a comprehensive upgrading programme for Montego Bay, including the Hip Strip.

Terming it a reimagining of Montego Bay, Minister Bartlett said the mega transformation plan, which was developed in 2009 “includes physical improvements, new product development, heavy landscaping and pedestrianizing of the area.”

While making his Sectoral Debate closing presentation, Minister Bartlett explained that most of the improvements will come after the completion of the transportation and road improvement network and that “it will be anchored by various private sector developments which are being planned along the entire strip.” He added that “there are also specific concepts being developed to address safety and security, visitor access and mobility, as well as themed entertainment and recreation.”

Minister Bartlett said: “The upgrading is to be undertaken by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and an allocation of $150 million has been budgeted for the current fiscal year to commence preliminary work for the project, which will facilitate a major transformation.”

Transformation of the Hip Strip will be complemented by what Minister Bartlett said will be several private sector funded developments that are set to come on-stream, including a 13-storey mixed use facility for hotel usage, residences and entertainment, to be built by a Jamaican investor and opens up the local EP hotel offering.

Mr. Bartlett told Parliament: “We are proud that the industry of tourism is getting to that point of inclusiveness where any and every one of us can have a chance and a stake at the level of what this brother is seeking to do.”

While expounding on plans for the development of the entire area, he said “we have already seen the result of a very successful partnership between the TEF and the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) in the development of the Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, which will soon be complemented by private and public sector led development throughout the area including Catherine Hall, Kent Avenue, Freeport and surrounding areas.”

He explained that under this initiative the Ministry of Tourism and the UDC was working on a programme for Catherine Hall and the building out of the promenade from the cruise terminal at Montego Freeport, going along the seafront to join onto the recently opened Harmony Beach Park.

Also, there will be a façade, as well as an entertainment park created from the beach park to “Deadend”, next door to the Sangster International Airport at the end of Jimmy Cliff Boulevard. “It is envisaged that in this we will have an entertainment development area; we will ensure that the access to craft development and artisan activities will be there within that space along with the fisher folk and a proper fisherman’s village similar to that done in Ocho Rios,” Mr. Bartlett disclosed.

Completion of this project will give Montego Bay a complete tourism experience with cruise, entertainment, art and craft, fisherfolk activity, complemented by leisure activities including a city walk. It is also expected to generate hundreds of jobs and a long term multiplier effect for the benefit of the western city and the wider Jamaica.

Minister Bartlett envisages the Hip Strip project elevating Montego Bay to the level of first-class destinations around the world, rivaling the likes of South Beach, Miami. He stressed that this was being done for Jamaicans and residents of Montego Bay in particular, but with the expectation that visitors will want to enjoy them also.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 31, 2021: A concerted effort by the Ministry of Tourism to have Jamaica become a major player in cruise homeporting, has received overwhelming support from tourism stakeholders in the private and public sectors, both locally and internationally. The tourism partners are confident that there are many benefits to gained from the initiative.

Among those agreeing that Jamaica has what it takes to reap the benefits of homeporting are Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. Norman Dunn; Executive Director of Jamaica Vacations Ltd. (JamVac), Mrs. Joy Roberts; Manager of the Falmouth Cruise Ship Terminal, Mr. Mark Hylton; Executive Director of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), Mrs. Imega Breese McNab and Operations Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ms. Olga Gomez Garcia.

They were participants in the latest session in the online forum series being hosted by the Knowledge Network of the Tourism Linkages Network (TLN). The forum, held recently, explored the topic: “Cruise Homeporting: Benefits for Our Destination”. Moderator, Director of Tourism, Mr. Donovan White said the webinar was being staged against the background that “the summer tourism season will be a pivotal period in the reopening of Jamaica’s tourism industry and as such, initiatives that support and stimulate a strengthened tourism product through strategic information leveraging will be absolutely critical to its success.”

Outlining the many benefits of cruise homeporting as part of the tourism recovery plan, Dr. Dunn said: “Homeporting provides a significant transformative opportunity for Jamaica’s local cruise ship industry, which has perhaps been the hardest hit sub-sector in the tourism industry.”

Dr. Dunn said the Caribbean had an advantage of serving over 40 percent of the global cruise market and “Jamaica has a distinct comparative advantage given its geographical location and close proximity to major tourist markets for cruise ship passengers.”

Mrs. Roberts expressed that there were great benefits to be had and the Ministry of Tourism would be working with cruise lines to foster these arrangements. She outlined a list of requirements and expectations and said Jamaica would be working closely with the cruise lines to have any hurdles removed.

Mrs. Roberts said there was no doubt that Jamaica stood to benefit in a holistic way from cruise homeporting “and we will need all hands on deck.” She also disclosed that plans are afoot for the development of a cruise homeporting policy.

While also agreeing that Jamaica can reap many benefits from homeporting, Mr. Hylton also identified some challenges, key among them being the high cost of airline tickets and the demand for adequate solid waste and recycling facilities.

“Cruise lines are keen on ensuring that they conduct themselves in accordance with global environmental requirements, so we have to ensure that the solid waste management and storage/distribution is done according to international expectations,” advised Mr. Hylton.

Ms. Garcia also pointed to environmental challenges but maintained that Jamaica had what was needed to benefit from the higher multiplier effect of cruise homeporting activities. Mrs. McNab underscored the importance of partnerships as the way forward and the need for sustainability, to ensure that Jamaica not only secures the homeporting business but is in a position to keep it.