KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 24, 2020: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry along with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), will be partnering to provide rooms for COVID-19 patients, should the need arise.

“I am in discussions with my colleague Minister of Health and the president of the JHTA to identify suitable rooms in the event they may be required to deal with recovery cases with COVID-19. Right now it is all hands on deck and tourism stands ready to support in any way it can to mitigate against the impact of this pandemic,” said Minister Bartlett.

The COVID-09 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on several countries globally. To date, there has been over 400 thousand cases with over 18 thousand deaths associated with the disease.

“Partnerships at the local, regional and global levels are critical at this stage to help manage this disease and this is just one such example,” added Minister Bartlett.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon Christopher Tufton has welcomed the initiative, which he says will help to ease the burden on the already limited public health resources.

Speaking on the response by the JHTA, President Omar Robinson said, “The JHTA has requested from our members with closed properties to enter into a partnership arrangement with the Ministry of Health & Wellness in the provision of rooms for quarantine/isolation purposes. We have also requested of our members to donate linens and other soft goods for use at hospitals, and isolation/quarantine rooms.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 20, 2020: Senior officials at Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism yesterday participated in a virtual meeting with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), to discuss a global coordinated partnership to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus on the world travel and tourism sector.

The partnership will include UNWTO, governments around the world, global private sector organizations and other international organizations.

Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett pledged his support for this initiative which will mitigate the impact of the pandemic that has made tourism particularly vulnerable.

During the discussions, Minister Bartlett noted that, “For the Caribbean and other countries in the Americas, the stakes are much higher than for most other regions. The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world, one in every four Caribbean national is employed in the tourism sector while tourism supports 16 of 18 economies in the region.”

He added that, “Despite the initial positive outlook for global and regional tourism in 2020, we can now reasonably anticipate negative repercussions from the unexpected fallout associated with the COV1D pandemic. These repercussions will likely extend into 2021.”

The Minister also provided the international body with an update on the response taken by the Government of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. He shared that key issues so far include:

·         Effective management of public health systems in our territories

·         Maintenance of the tourism product quality during this period to ensure a strong recovery

·         Human capital and welfare concerns for employees

The meeting also included senior executives from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), World Health Organization (WHO), Chairs of UNWTO Regional Commissions in Africa, South Asia, Europe and the Middle East, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), European Commissions, International Maritime Organization (IMO), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as the Airports Council International (ACI).

“The crisis at hand also reaffirms the important role of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. The Centre represents the primary institutional framework in the region for assessing, forecasting, mitigating and managing risks to the tourism sector,” said Minister Bartlett.

To respond to the COVID-19 threat, the Centre recently appointed Dr. Elaine Williams as Coordinator of Pandemics at the Centre. Dr. Williams, who is a well-known pathologist, will be working with key stakeholders in health to build clinical resilience in the industry.

“We are also actively engaging all our stakeholders and partners, including travel agencies, cruise lines, hoteliers, booking agencies, marketing agencies, airlines etc. WTO, CTO CHTA etc. – and we will be announcing more measures shortly,” he said.

The UNWTO is the leading international organization in the field of tourism. UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

The UNTWO’s membership includes 159 countries, 6 Associate Members and over 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 18, 2020: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has been working with the Ministry of Finance and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) to institute fiscal arrangements that will help to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on workers in the sector. The pandemic, whilst negatively impacting all sectors, has brought global tourism to a standstill. 

“I want all workers in the sector to know that we are aware of the challenges and ripple effects of this pandemic as activities grind to a halt and questions surrounding job security arise. Based on these new developments, I have been in discussion with my colleague Minister of Finance and the JHTA to iron out a plan of action to help safeguard all our workers, over the last several weeks,” said Minister Bartlett.

Already, the Government is in short order implementing fiscal actions to cushion the economic impact of Covid-19. These include:

·         Discussions with commercial banks for them to provide temporary cash-flow 

·         support to businesses and consumers in affected sectors through deferral of principal payments, new lines of credit and other measures

·         Introduction of the Covid Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) programme which has four elements:

a. Introduction of the Business Employee Support and Transfer of Cash (BEST Cash) – which will provide temporary cash transfer to businesses in targeted sectors based on the number of workers they keep employed.

b. Supporting Employees with Transfer of Cash (SET Cash ) – which will provide temporary cash transfer to individuals where it can be verified that they lost their employment since March 10, (the date of the first Covid case in Jamaica) due to the Covid virus and this will be available for a specific period.

c. Special soft loan fund to assist individuals and businesses that have been hard hit.

d. Supporting the poor and vulnerable with special Covid related grants.

“I am appealing to all workers in the sector to remain safe by following the hygienic protocols we have laid out and to listen to credible news reports to get the necessary updates to stay abreast of the situation,” added Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett noted that he and senior members of his team have been in touch with all key stakeholders here and overseas and will maintain in contact as part of his efforts to work together to find the best possible solutions to lessen the impact on the sector.

March 16, 2020 – Kingston, Jamaica – Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton and other senior Government officials hosted a video conference call with over 30 Hotel Executives inclusive of the leadership of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) last night (Sunday March 15) to get frank and detailed sector specific situation analyses in light of COVID-19.

Also on the video conference led from the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 Emergency Operations Centre in New Kingston was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dunstan Bryan; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie; Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Tourism Ministry, Delano Seiveright. Video Conference participants included President of the JHTA, Omar Robinson; Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Chairman, John Lynch; JTB Director, Donovan White and executives of several major resorts including Sandals, Beaches, RIU, Bahia Principe, Royalton, Half Moon, Round Hill, Moon Palace, Iberostar, Jamaica Pegasus among several others.

Senior Strategist, Delano Seiveright noted that, “Minister Bartlett and the Ministry’s leadership has been working closely with the Ministry of Health over the last several weeks. This was further deepened following Prime Minister Andrew Holness chaired National Disaster Risk Management Council meeting on COVID-19 recently and now established tourism health protocols that have been adopted by all tourism entities. The Protocols cover three basic elements – developing the required infrastructure, providing support to the Ministry of Health and educating all stakeholders about the COVID-19 virus.”

“It is clear however that with escalating travel restrictions and broad discouragement of non-essential travel, here and abroad, the sector will be reduced to a trickle for some time.”, Seiveright noted.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 13, 2020: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has appointed Dr. Elaine Williams as Coordinator of Pandemics at the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM). Dr. Williams, who is a well-known pathologist, will be working with key stakeholders in health to build clinical resilience in the industry.

Minister Bartlett made the announcement Wednesday [March 11, 2020] during a Forum on Disruptive Forces in Tourism which was put on by the Knowledge Network of the Tourism Linkages Network and the GTRCM at the Knutsford Court Hotel.

“The move comes at a period where global pandemics, such as the coronavirus, threaten the lives and livelihoods of so many and there is need to build capacity for clinical resilience to mitigate against them.

Dr. Williams will be collaborating with health authorities locally and internationally to assist in building this capacity especially as it relates to our workers,” said Minister Bartlett.

The World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee recently declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. 

“The need for clinical resilience is not just about this current virus but for all other epidemiological issues that will affect us all. Dr. Williams will now be connecting with WHO and other agencies but primarily with countries that are highly tourism dependent such as the Caribbean, to build new arrangements that can mitigate the impact,” added Minister Bartlett.

Dr. Williams recently retired from the UHWI and UWI where she served in the capacity of Consultant Anatomical Pathologist and Senior Lecturer for over forty years. She comes with a strong background in Viral Epidemiology, having been a Co-investigator on the Human T Cell Lymphotropic Virus 1 (HTLV-1) Research Project conducted locally in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

First announced during the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism in St. James in November 2017, the Centre, which is the first of its kind, will be tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle the recovery process following a disaster.

The centre will also assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 13, 2020: Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry has established measures that should be adopted by all tourism entities, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Specially assigned staff-members of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), who are a part of the newly developed Stakeholder Risk Management Unit, will closely monitor the implementation of the protocols.

The announcement was made today, during an emergency press briefing at the Ministry of Tourism offices in New Kingston.

“As a Ministry, we have the responsibility to ensure the safety and health security of all the people who are involved in the industry, at any level. It is also critical for us to build clinical resilience, which is the bedrock of what will make the industry survive over time.

It is for this reason that we have set up, along with the Ministry of Health, a protocol which we have worked very hard on – over the last few days in particular,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister noted that the nine-page document, which is now in circulation to all tourism stakeholders, covers three basic elements – developing the required infrastructure, providing support to the Ministry of Health and educating all stakeholders about the COVID-19 virus.

“The first element of our new protocols, has to do with the required infrastructure …We want to ensure that all hotels are equipped with all the necessary chemical components that are needed for thorough sanitization,” he said.  

He also added that temporary holding facilities must be designated at all entities, for anyone who is displaying symptoms of the COVID-19.

“We want to establish facilities that will be available for quarantining where we can, in a limited way, ahead of the arrival of a health personnel to remove individuals with an official designated quarantine area. We are encouraging medical support be readily available in every tourism entity in Jamaica. Some hotels have already identified rooms for quarantine,” said Bartlett.

The final element of the protocol is public education. Therefore, the Minister has charged his Corporate Communications Division with the task of creating and distributing educational material about COVID-19 and the newly established protocols to all tourism entities.

Additionally, a COVID-19 Coordinator will be assigned at all tourism entities, who will be the point of contact with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and Ministry of Tourism.

This person has to keep abreast of health protocols and preventative measures and also maintain communication with booking agencies, to ensure that information on travel precautionary measures are observed.

“We know that the health security of Jamaica is the bedrock of any future tourism arrangements in the country. We want to be inserted in the centre of ensuring that the communities that serve particularly around the tourism centres are equipped and have the necessary public education.

We are going to be printing and distributing in every tourism entity, important facts and practices that must be embraced by everyone who is serving in the industry,” said the Minister.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 13, 2020: The Ministry of Tourism wishes to advise the public that all previously advertised activities for March have been postponed, until further notice.

This decision is in keeping with the new COVID-19 health protocols, regarding public gatherings declared by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, at an emergency press briefing held at the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister shared that “Where the law requires, the granting of a permit for any event or gathering, no permit will be issued within the next 14 days. That means any event, whether entertainment event, any gathering that requires the issuing of a permit. Permits that were already issued will be rescinded.”

He also asked that organisers of business meetings and large gatherings follow the protocols that have been established for personal care and hygiene.

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says, “We must err on the side of caution in light of the new COVID-19 developments in the country. I have had several meetings with my team about these upcoming events and believe it is in the best interest of the public as well as the staff of the Ministry to postpone these events until it is safer to do so.”

Therefore, in the interest of public safety, the Ministry of Tourism will be postponing the following events:

• Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event scheduled for March 12 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre
• Tourism Worker’s Pensions Sensitization session scheduled for March 12 at Royalton Blue Waters
• Tourism Worker’s Pensions Sensitization session scheduled for March 13 at the Montego Bay Civic Centre
• Tourism Worker’s Pensions Sensitization session scheduled for March 13 at Glistening Waters in Falmouth
• Tourism Service Excellence Awards scheduled for March 14 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre
• TPDCO’s Call for Licence Applications roadshow scheduled for March 16-26 across the island
• Tourism Disaster Framework Workshops scheduled for March 18 and 19 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre and Jewel Dunn’s River Beach Resort & Spa
• Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival scheduled for March 21 in Newcastle, St. Andrew
• Enrollment in the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme scheduled for March 27 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre
• Tourism Expo scheduled for March 28 at Neville Antonio Park, Portland

The Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and be guided by the protocols for the public health and safety outlined by the Office of the Prime Minister.  However, considerations are also being made, where appropriate, to execute some of these events remotely utilizing virtual communication applications.

“We are very technologically savvy and I am sure we can have some of these events remotely. However, we are still fine tuning these details and will advise the public once decisions have been finalised,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Ministry regrets any inconvenience these changes may cause and encourage the public to follow all health advisories to avoid spread of the virus.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 2, 2020: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has announced that registration for the historical and highly anticipated Tourism Workers Pension Scheme will begin on March 27, 2020.

The landmark Tourism Workers Pension Scheme is designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 years in the tourism sector, whether permanent, contract or self-employed. This includes hotel workers, as well as persons employed in related industries such as craft vendors, tour operators, red cap porters, contract carriage operators and workers at attractions.

Speaking at a sensitization session at Hotel Tim Bamboo in Portland last Thursday [February 27, 2020], Minister Bartlett said, “I am extremely pleased that after all the hard work of the senior technocrats of my Ministry along with the Board of Trustees, registration for the scheme will begin on March 27, 2020, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. This is truly tourism working for all.

I am urging all workers in the sector to go out and sign up so they can benefit by contributing to their own retirement after giving of themselves so tirelessly.”

The Board of Trustees, which oversees the Scheme, is set to announce an Investment Manager and a Fund Administrator to manage the operations of the Scheme shortly.

Minister Bartlett added that, “The development of the regulations for the Act is nearly complete which will provide the guidelines on how the scheme will operate.” The regulations will also provide for an augmented pension. Augmented pension beneficiaries will be persons who joined the Scheme at 59 years old and would not have saved enough for a pension. With the Ministry’s injection of $1 Billion to augment the fund, these persons will qualify for a minimum pension.

The Scheme has received overwhelming support from workers, employers and other stakeholders in the sector who have lauded it as a critical piece of social legislation that will positively impact many lives.

“This is the time for all tourism workers to feel confident that at the end of their years of service in the sector they love, that they can have a guaranteed pension to take care themselves,” said Minister Bartlett.

Sensitization sessions to educate workers and stakeholders will continue as part of the Ministry’s awareness efforts and culminate at the Montego Bay Convention Centre for the beginning of the registration process on March 27 from 9am to 5pm.

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, Monday, February 24, 2020: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has hailed the partnership with his Ministry and the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) which is set to yield a $20 billion housing project for tourism workers in St James.

The proposed site for the 1200 housing units is in Grange Pen, eastern St James which is in close proximity to where Hard Rock will be investing in the development of a 1700-room hotel, adjacent to the Iberostar Hotel.

In highlighting the importance of this project, Minister Bartlett said, “We believe that our tourism workers deserve to live in clean, orderly, structured and safe communities with appropriate infrastructure. As such, housing for tourism workers remains a critical prong in our overall human capital development strategy.”

The development, which is expected to take three to five years, will a mix of mostly one and two-bedroom units and some three-bedrooms. HAJ Managing Director Gary Howell says “We’re in the process of finding joint venture partners. We have advanced planning and are expecting later on this year to get all approvals in place.”

He says the Tourism Enhancement Fund is already on board as a partner having bought the land and another partnership proposal for the project is currently being evaluated to see if it meets the needs of the development “as we want to get housing that is affordable for the hotel workers. We are ensuring that whatever we are building those persons will be able to afford.”

Minister Bartlett says it is important that hotel workers have a sense of place, “This is very important because the workers of the industry, over time, have been at the bottom end of the beneficiaries of tourism.

The argument of lower salaries and so on have all impacted the value-added from tourism so my strategy now is to build the capacity of the workers, to lift the quality of the service they offer, also their standard of living and their quality of life so that the benefits of tourism are felt by them as well.”

Minister Bartlett says a holistic approach is being taken to the development of tourism workers with training and certification well underway through the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation, workers housing development representing the social component and the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme as the final leg.

More houses are already being built for tourism workers. Most of the 750 units under construction at Rhyne Park will go to them while a portion the 3,000 units at The Estuary in Johns Hall is also reserved for them.

According to Minister Bartlett, “We’re working with NHT (National Housing Trust) in St Ann where development is going to take place primarily around Karisma Hotels and Resorts’ US$1-billion 4,800 rooms multi-resort development at Llandovery where ground is to be broken on Friday, February 28 for the first 1700-room hotel.

This is part of a broader strategy of ensuring that this industry is not only the whiskey and soda thing that people talk about; but it has a dimension to development and transformation."

KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 24, 2020: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett has expressed deep regret at the passing of prominent Grenadian and Caribbean hotelier, Sir Royston Hopkin, KCMG.

“On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, I would like to offer my condolences to Lady Betty Hopkin and the Hopkin family, on the passing of Sir Royston Hopkin, KCMG.

I also wish to extend my sympathies to the management and staff of the Spice Island Beach Resort as well as the Government and people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” said Minister Bartlett.  

Sir Royston was the proprietor of the Triple A Five Diamond rated Spice Island Beach Resort located on Grand Anse beach, Grenada.

He was the longest serving Board member, and ambassador for the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA).

He was the recipient of a number of awards such as “Hotelier of the Year,” as well as Lifetime Achievement awards from CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).

Most recently, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Caribbean Hotel and Resort Investment Summit in Miami for his contributions to the tourism industry in Grenada.

“Sir Royston was a brilliant businessman and ambassador for tourism in the Caribbean. His passion for tourism is truly unmatched and our industry will not be the same without him. May his soul be at peace with our Heavenly Father,” said Minister Bartlett.