KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 03, 2020:  Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says the appointed date on which the Tourism Workers’ Pension Act came into operation was January 31, 2020, with registration for the scheme to begin soon.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Tourism’s New Kingston offices earlier today, the Tourism Minister said, “This gazetted date sets the stage for the Board of Trustees to conclude the arrangements with the fund manager and the fund administrator.

The framework for the development of regulations is now underway and I am hoping to take this to Parliament tomorrow, but if not, certainly within the first few sittings within the new parliamentary year. ”

The long-awaited Tourism Workers’ Pensions 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.

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme will receive $1 billion in funding from the Ministry of Tourism, to augment the pool of funds. The Augmented Pension Beneficiaries will be persons who joined the Scheme at 59 years old. With the Ministry’s injection of funds, these persons will qualify for a minimum pension.

He added that, “The regulations will allow for 180 days period for the Augmented Pensions Beneficiaries. After we have designated that, those people will have the opportunity to register. Once they have registered, they will be on and the programme begins with earnest with the ordinary members.”

The pension scheme will see persons contributing an initial 3% of their income for the first three years and then 5% after that - this contribution is then matched by the employer. However, employees have the option of giving up to 15% of their salaries over time.

As part of the Ministry’s awareness efforts, Tourism Workers Pension Sensitizations Sessions will continue this week for The Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, Sangster International Airport, Secrets Montego Bay and Excellence Oyster Bay and Portland on February 27.

The distribution of the fund will be done in tranches, with the first disbursement taking place within this financial year (before the end of March 2020). A formal presentation will be made at a later date.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 28, 2020: Minister Bartlett says the recent threats of global pandemics and the frequent occurrences of natural disasters heightened the need for a Global Tourism Resilience Fund.

The Fund, which the Minister says requires global support, would be the first funding facility managed in the region, which is specifically designed to assist vulnerable tourism-dependent destinations across the globe.

The call comes against the backdrop of the brief and discredited coronavirus scare in the island today, as well as the occurrence of 7.7 earthquake in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and Cuba earlier today.  

“The call therefore by the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, through its chairman, is very apropos. It reinforces the need for the big partners of the world, private and public sector,  to join together to create this Global Fund, to enable many of the countries that are at the heart of the tourism market to be able to build resilience.”

He added that the fund would also help to “create the necessary infrastructure that is required to not only recognise these disruptions but to also be able to determine and track them. But most importantly, equip vulnerable countries to be able to respond, manage, and to then recover and grow after.”

The Fund would be designed to help to build capacity to respond to disruptive threats to the economic sustainability of tourism-dependent countries. It would also target those destinations that are deemed as experiencing high climate vulnerability but have insufficient financial capacity to prepare for and recover quickly from disruptions. 

“Tourism is a huge part of the economies for us in the Caribbean and we are very vulnerable to climatic and pandemic events. Therefore, we have to take a proactive approach in regards to driving capacity to respond quickly. 

The Fund would therefore help us to create a resource base for information development and dissemination. It would also help us to create capacity to innovate, build better and respond in Nano time to these disruptions,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also shared that while focus would be placed on the Caribbean, which is the most tourism dependent region in the world, the Fund would be useful to destinations across the globe.

“Destinations all over the world are affected by these disruptions. There are three times that I can recall global tourism not growing – the Sars virus in 2003, 9-11 terrorist attack and the economic meltdown of 2008. Now we are faced with other issues which I am sure the Fund will have a positive impact on if it receives more support,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre located at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, would oversee the management of the Global Tourism Resilience Fund.

The Centre is aimed at assessing, forecasting, mitigating and managing risks related to tourism resilience, caused by various disruptive factors. These disruptions may include climate change and natural disasters, cybercrime, cybersecurity, pandemics, terrorism, war, population and the changing funding models.

It was first announced during the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism in St. James in November 2017, and is the first of its kind.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 26, 2020: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett extended his heartfelt congratulations to Jamaican teen sensation Koffee on winning the Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category, earlier yesterday in Los Angeles. Koffee becomes the first woman and the youngest artist to win the award in this category, for her album Rapture.

“We offer heartfelt congratulations to Koffee for this tremendous achievement,” said Minister Bartlett. “She is following in the footsteps of other reggae greats who have played a pivotal role in taking our irresistible rhythm to the world. We are a land of extraordinary talent and Koffee is yet another example,” said Minister Bartlett.

This accomplishment by Koffee, born Mikayla Simpson, is significant as it serves as a precursor to the start to February’s Reggae Month and ahead of Women’s Month in March.

Koffee won from a field of fellow Jamaicans Julian Marley for “As I Am”, Sly & Robbie & Roots Radics for “The Final Battle,” and “More Work To Be Done” by Third World, which was produced by Damian Marley as well as English band Steel Pulse for “Mass Manipulation.”

MADRID, Spain; January 24, 2020: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has announced that Jamaica and the Republic of Panama have signed a multi-destination arrangement, as part of efforts to strengthen tourism relations between both countries.

The agreement was signed today during FITUR, the largest International Tourism Trade Fair for inbound and outbound Ibero-American markets, currently underway in Spain.

Jamaica has previously signed similar agreements with Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, to advance regional integration by fostering and harmonising legislation on air connectivity, visa facilitation, product development, marketing and human capital development.

‘The signing of the agreement today with Panama brings us to five countries in the North-Western Caribbean that have now developed an arrangement for convergence of their marketing and airlift arrangements.

This is a huge development for tourism’s growth and expansion in the Caribbean area, as it now brings five of the largest markets in the region together,” said Minister Bartlett.

The convergence of the five countries is expected to create a market of over 60 million potential visitors and will be promoted as a package, through the respective tourist boards to large tour operators, airlines and cruise-lines.

“This agreement creates a mega-market that will now be able to attract the big airlines, the large tour operators but more importantly we will be able to entice the new emerging markets of the far distances of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

These distant markets will be able to come into the Caribbean area, enjoy many of the experiences at a packed deal, and can seamlessly through the areas,” said the Minister.

The multi-destination tourism is a strategy the Tourism Ministry has been using to increase the product offerings of the respective destinations but more so to enable better air connectivity between markets particularly, for long haul destinations.

With this multi destination arrangement, Panama will become a hub for long haul flights and Emirates and Air China are among the two targeted carriers. It also covers how Jamaica can better leverage the Jamaican Diaspora, which has contributed to the cultural enrichment of Panama.

“A feature of this agreement will be to look at rationalizing infrastructure arrangements, particularly where visitor facilitation is concerned.

Therefore, we will be looking at a single visa regime, for example one that will allow us to have domestic space within the five countries that are involved, for tourism purposes only,” said the Minister.

“We could also look at the possibility of a single airspace, for airlines that are coming into servicing these areas will not have to pay five or six different fees in relation to five or six different airspaces, but a single fee that will cover all. The prospects of this is a game-changer for tourism development in the North-Western Caribbean,” he added.

The final aspect of this agreement will be the strengthening of resilience building in the region, which will include the establishment of a satellite Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at an agreed university in Panama.

Jamaica has had diplomatic relations with Panama since 1966. Currently, COPA Airlines, which is the flag carrier of Panama, operates eleven (11) flights weekly into Jamaica.

Madrid, Spain; January 23, 2020: Spanish Hotel interests this morning, while noting the importance of quality, good pricing and consistency, committed to expand their purchasing and support for local products and services as Jamaica’s tourism industry continues on a strong growth path that will see the build out of thousands of new hotel rooms over the coming months and years.

They also indicated strongly a willingness to work with the Government of Jamaica in collaborating with local businesses on the establishment of efficient and well run farming operations to better supply the growing industry.

The commitment came from owners and Senior Executives of the largest Hotels and resorts in Jamaica under the Inverotel umbrella, an association representing Spanish Hoteliers and Operators, who this morning met with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and other tourism officials in Spain’s capital city, Madrid.

Representatives included the owners’ of three of the largest hotels in the Jamaica: Grupo Pinero owners of Bahia Principe, Mrs. Encarna Pinero, who also Chairs Inverotel; Iberostar’s, Mr. Miguel Fluxa and Grand Palladium’s, Abel Matutes.

The commitment came as Minister Bartlett detailed major findings of a recent demand study illustrating Jamaica’s tourism sector’s total value of demand for agricultural products amounted to J$39.6 billion and a whopping J$352 billion for manufactured products.

The Tourism Demand Study was designed to identify the existing/potential demand in the tourism sector for goods and services across local sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and entertainment. The study is done through the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Council.

Spanish Hotel Investors have pumped approximately US$1.7 billion or J$238 billion into the Jamaican economy in recent years and represent 25 per cent of Hotel rooms.

A further US$750 million or J$105 Billion in investments representing an additional 3,000 rooms is already in motion with the continued development of the new Spanish owned H10 resort in Trelawny and the planned development of the island’s largest resort by Princess Resorts in Hanover.

Owner of Iberostar, Miguel Fluxa, commended Bartlett’s leadership noting that it “is the very base of Jamaica’s outstanding tourism product over the years.” 

Among other matters discussed at the high-level engagement are work permits, beach protection, workers training, the Government's new pension plan and enhanced coordination and integration with civil society. 

Minister Bartlett is currently in Spain participating in FITUR, the largest International Tourism Trade Fair for inbound and outbound Ibero-American markets.

Madrid, Spain; January 23, 2020: Spanish Hotel interests this morning gave their support for the government’s ground-breaking Tourism Workers Pension Scheme whilst however noting the importance of it being carefully managed in a closed door meeting with them in Spain today.

Spanish Hotel Tycoon, Abel Matutes, founder of Palladium Hotel Group, owners of Grand Palladium Resort in Hanover, Jamaica and former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain, stressed the importance of ensuring that the Pension plan is managed at the highest standards to ensure that workers ultimately benefit.

Matutes noted that several pension schemes in the Western world have run into serious trouble due to poor management among other matters. Nonetheless, he expressed full support for the new arrangement as a critical “social security” tool for workers of the industry.

Bartlett responded assuring Matutes of the varying systems in place to ensure that the Pension scheme is operated at the very highest standards of governance.

The Tourism Workers Pension Scheme is managed by a Board of Trustees, which is currently in the process of procuring an Investment Manager and an Administrator to manage investments and the operations of the Scheme. The Scheme is also Tax exempt and regulated by the Financial Services Commission.

“As soon as the Fund Manager has been appointed, J$250 million will be disbursed to seed the fund from the Tourism Enhancement Fund so that if workers who have contributed for only 5 years and reach their retirement age of 65 they will get a guaranteed minimum pension,” Bartlett noted following the closed door meeting.  

The Ministry of Tourism has been carrying out pension sensitization sessions across the island to update tourism workers on the next steps of the pension scheme.

The Tourism Workers' Pension Scheme is designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 year 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.

Founders, Owners and Senior Executives of the largest Hotels and resorts in Jamaica under the Inverotel umbrella, an association representing Spanish Hoteliers and Operators, met with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, JTB Head Donovan White and Senior Advisor/Strategist, Delano Seiveright Spain’s capital city, Madrid today.

Representatives included the owners’ of three of the largest hotels in the Jamaica: Grupo Pinero owners of Bahia Principe, Ms. Encarna Pinero, who also Chairs Inverotel; Iberostar’s, Mr. Miguel Fluxa and Grand Palladium’s, Abel Matutes.

Spanish Hotel Investors have pumped approximately US$1.7 billion or J$238 billion into the Jamaican economy in recent years and represent 25 per cent of hotel rooms.

A further US$750 million or J$105 Billion in investments representing an additional 3,000 rooms is already in motion with the continued development of the new Spanish owned H10 resort in Trelawny and the planned development of the island’s largest resort by Princess Resorts in Hanover.

Minister Bartlett is currently in Spain participating in FITUR, the largest International Tourism Trade Fair for inbound and outbound Ibero-American markets.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 22, 2020: Jamaica has been named the Caribbean’s Leading Destination at the World Travel Award’s Caribbean Gala ceremony, for the fifteenth consecutive season.

At the same event, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) was declared the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board for the thirteenth consecutive year.

In expressing his delight, Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett said, “Jamaica is very honoured to once again be named the Caribbean’ Leading Destination with the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board. This certainly could not have happened without the hard work that my team and all our stakeholders have done to ensure that our visitors always have a memorable experience. This recognition further justifies why we are indeed the Heartbeat of the World.”

These awards come on the heels of Jamaica being named as one of the Best Places to Go in 2020, according to CNN, Bloomberg and Forbes. Additionally, the recent crowning of Toni-Ann Singh as Miss World 2019, the fourth time a Jamaican has won this title, has secured extraordinary international recognition for Jamaica on the world stage.

“In Jamaica, we work hard to ensure our tourism product stands out on the global stage. We have undertaken wide-reaching efforts such as attracting renowned international hospitality brands; implementing environmental initiatives to preserve Jamaica’s natural beauty; and highlighting our Larger than Life experiences on and off-island,” said Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. 

A  complete  list  of  awards won  by  Jamaica  and  its  tourism  partners, representing  the  elite  in international tourism for each of these categories, is as follows:

·         Caribbean's Leading Tourist Board (Jamaica Tourist Board)

·         Caribbean's Leading Destination (Jamaica)

·         Caribbean's Leading Cruise Destination (Jamaica)

·         Caribbean's Leading Cruise Port (Port of Falmouth)

·         Caribbean's Leading Home Port (Port of Montego Bay)

·         Caribbean's Leading Adventure Tour Operator (Island Routes Caribbean Adventures)

·         Caribbean's Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction (Dunn's River Falls)

·         Caribbean's Leading Airport (Sangster International Airport)

·         Caribbean's Leading Airport Lounge (Club Mobay @ Sangster International Airport)

·         Caribbean's Leading Boutique Resort (GoldenEye)

·         Caribbean's Leading Tour Operator (GO! Jamaica Travel)

·         Caribbean's Leading Destination Management Company (GO! Jamaica Travel)

·         Caribbean's Leading Entertainment Venue (Margaritaville Caribbean)

·         Caribbean's Leading Hotel Brand (Sandals Resorts International)

·         Caribbean's Leading Hotel Residences (The Tryall Club)

·         Caribbean's Leading Independent Car Rental Company (Island Car Rentals)

·         Caribbean's Leading Luxury All Suite Resort (Jamaica Inn)

·         Caribbean's Leading Luxury Hotel Villa (Fleming Villa @ GoldenEye)

·         Caribbean's Leading Luxury Resort (Meliá Braco Village)

·         Caribbean's Leading Meetings & Conference Centre (Montego Bay Convention Centre)

·         Caribbean's Leading New Hotel (AC Hotel Kingston)

·         Caribbean's Leading Travel Agency (Trafalgar Travel)

·         Caribbean's Leading Villa Resort (Round Hill Hotel & Villas)

World Travel Awards™ was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 22, 2020:  The Jamaican-based Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) on Tuesday donated US$100,000 to the Bahamas. The funds will assist with hurricane relief following the passage of Hurricane Dorian last year, as well as for the development of the Disaster Risk, Resilience & Readiness Assessment in the Caribbean Tourism Sector Study.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, made the presentation, during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace taking place in Baha Mar.

The donation, which was presented to the Bahamian Minister of Tourism, Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, is a collaborate effort with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

The donation was drawn from GTRCMC’s relief fund supporting tourism-ravaged economies impacted by disruptions including natural disasters and pandemics.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which was first announced in 2017, operates in a global context that is characterized by not only new challenges, but also new opportunities for tourism in an effort to improve the tourism product as well as to ensure the sustainability of tourism globally.

The Centre, which is located at the University of the West Indies, is tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle the recovery process following a disaster. It will also assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods

Category 5 Hurricane Dorian made impact with the Bahamas last October causing severe flooding and destruction, specifically in the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 21, 2020: Tourism Minister Hon Edmund Bartlett departed the island yesterday to attend the Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Baha Mar, Bahamas.  While there, he will participate in several business meetings and will form a part of a panel on a forum entitled “Caribbean Tourism Pulse: 2020 and Beyond”.   

Caribbean Travel Marketplace is the largest Tourism Marketing event in the Caribbean, hosted under the auspices of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. It serves as an important platform to enhance exchanges between tourism suppliers from around the world.

The event displays hotels, tourist boards, destination management companies, tour operators, airlines among others related to the travel industry. It is also the ideal forum for establishing new customer contacts and conducting business.

More than 1000 delegates from over 25 countries as well as several buyer companies are expected to attend.

They include 191 representatives from countries such as Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, the Russian Federation, Spain, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Frank Comito, destinations such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and Grenada are leading the region with new and refreshed products.

The Minister will be joined by the Director of Tourism, Donovan White; Deputy Director of Tourism, Camile Glenister; and Jamaica Tourist Board’s Caribbean Sales Manager, Trudy Dixon.

Minister Bartlett and Mr. White will continue to Spain to participate in the Spanish International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) as well at the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) programme of activities in Madrid, Spain during the period January 22–26, 2020. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 17, 2020: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry will be increasing investment in developing Carnival in Jamaica as a tourism product, which will be marketed to destinations across the globe.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of Carnival in Jamaica, at the AC Hotel in Kingston, the Minister said, “The Tourism Linkages Network will continue to support Carnival in Jamaica. We are committed to spend more on it, not for events, but to build the product because that is what will be sustainable and lasting.”

He added that, “Events are good, but you cannot market and package events in the same way you can with a product. In tourism, we drive and market products. We package these products as a combination of rooms, air seats and the experience.”

The marketing efforts for last year’s event proved effective, with data from the Jamaica Tourist Board,  showing that visitor arrivals through Norman Manley International Airport for the respective Easter/Carnival periods between 2018 and 2019 increased by 11.5% from 9,881 to 11,014 visitors.

Additionally, in the few days leading up to the culmination of Carnival in Jamaica, there was an increase in visitor arrivals from NMIA in 2019 of 18.4% over 2018's Carnival lead up.

For an average of five nights, visitors also spent approximately US$240 per person per night; up from US$236 in 2018.

 “Carnival was re-energised in 2017 with one intention in mind – to create a carnival product so that we can market it… This building out of the product will create an economic arrangement that will generate jobs and employment for hundreds of people, which is the bottom line for prosperity from carnival,” said the Minister.

The data highlighted that Carnival in Jamaica, resulted in an increase in economic activity in a myriad of subsectors, such as entertainment and the creative industries, attractions, ground transportation, auto rentals, catering, media, and retail. 

Thirty-three percent of carnival participants visited an attraction, 49% dined out, and 47% participated in nightlife activities.

Kingston hotels were booked to capacity with 30% of carnival patrons staying in hotels. Airbnb was also a beneficiary with 28% opting for homestays and the remainder staying in private homes, villas, guesthouses and apartments.

“We are marketing Jamaica as a destination for music, entertainment, food, and most importantly – for love. That combination now makes Jamaica, the heartbeat of the world. You will hear more about that as we move on, in terms of our marketing arrangements across the globe,” said the Minister. 

He further explained that, “This marketing drive has become a critical component of the architecture and the arrangements that we are making for disseminating ideas and information about Jamaica. This is very important to us because we are looking forward to building the city of Kingston, as the entertainment sector of the Caribbean.

In doing so, we are not competing with Trinidad or other destinations. We are creating something that is authentic, opinionated – something that people would come to Jamaica to experience and to consume and go nowhere else to get.”

Carnival in Jamaica was launched in 2017, and is used as the umbrella brand for all carnival activities, during the carnival period, making it a national product. This is an annual undertaking, which aims to transform the carnival experience locally. It is a key initiative of the Tourism Linkages Network with support from the Jamaica Tourist Board and key stakeholders.