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 Permits that were already issued will be rescinded.”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.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 20, 2020: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili will be the key speaker at the first ever UNWTO Global Summit on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Resilience Management, which is being hosted in Montego Bay in May.

The visit is Pololikashvili’s first to the region, since being appointed in 2017, following the recommendation of the 105th UNWTO Executive Council.

“We look forward to welcoming him to the Caribbean and having him here for the conference, which will bring together global thought leaders in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience,” said Minister Bartlett.

The UNWTO Global Summit on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Resilience Management will be held on May 28 and coincides with the 65th Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) on May 29. Both key events will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The Regional Commissions meet once a year to allow Member States to maintain ‎contact with each other and with the UNWTO Secretariat between sessions of the bi-annual General ‎Assembly. 

Jamaica currently chairs the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO) Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) for the biennium 2019-2021.

Since 1975, Jamaica has served as vice-president of the General Assembly on five occasions over the period 1987 – 2011, and has been re-elected twice as a member of the Executive Council, serving as second vice-chair in 2012, first vice chair in 2013 and eventually serving as Chairman of the Executive Council for the period 2014-2015.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 12, 2020: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett will visit Texas on Thursday, to meet with Bishop TD Jakes at his church, the Potters House, to further explore building out Jamaica’s faith-based product.

This follows on a meeting in Jamaica last November, where the renowned religious leader expressed interest in staging a leadership summit in Jamaica, which could bring 10,000 visitors to the island.

The preliminary meeting with the Bishop took place in Falmouth, when Jakes’ Faith and Family Cruise on the MS Nieuw Amsterdam docked with 1,800 other passengers.

The discussions led to an agreement for Minister Bartlett to visit the Potter’s House to further develop opportunities for collaboration.

Bishop TD Jakes’ church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcasted on The Potters Touch, which airs on lightsource.com, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Black Entertainment Television, the Daystar Television Network and The Word Network. The broadcasts are reportedly watched by 3.3 million viewers every week.

The Potter's House is a 30,000-member nondenominational church led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as America's Best Preacher and as one of America’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals.

Prior to visiting Minister Jakes, Minister Bartlett will attend a meeting in Miami with the Florida- Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) on February 12, to discuss new initiatives as well as to provide an update on the cruise sector in Jamaica.

He will also meet with the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International (RCL) on February 14, 2020.

The Executive Director of the Jamaica Vacations Ltd (JAMVAC) is accompanying the Minister during this official visit. They are expected to return to the island on February 14, 2020.

Montego Bay, St. James; February 7, 2020: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett is upbeat that workers in the sector will be able to fully register for the pension scheme starting in March 2020.

The 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 the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “This landmark social legislation will change the social security arrangements for all workers in the sector who will have a guaranteed pension when they retire.

I am pleased that based on our timelines to get everything in place, by March, workers will be able to register for the scheme and begin to contribute to their own retirement.”

The Scheme is now in effect and is managed by a Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is currently in the process of finalizing the negotiations for an Investment Manager and a Fund Administrator to manage the operations of the Scheme. The Scheme is also tax exempt and regulated by the Financial Services Commission.

The Ministry is in the process of developing regulations for the Act, which also provides 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.

“We felt the need to find a solution for those workers who would have contributed for only 5 years but deserve the guarantee of a pension at retirement. So once the Investment Manager has been appointed, J$250 million out of the J$1 billion from the Ministry’s injection will be disbursed to seed the fund to ensure these workers have a pension,” added Minister Bartlett.

As part of the Ministry’s awareness efforts, Tourism Workers Pension Sensitization Sessions will continue.  This week, sessions were held at the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, Sangster International Airport, Secrets Montego Bay and Excellence Oyster Bay. The next sensitization session for February will be in Portland on the 27^th.

Since the start of these sensitization sessions in 2018, 2500 workers have attended, many of whom have expressed interest in the Scheme.

FALMOUTH, Trelawny; February 6, 2020:  Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica’s first Artisan Village is taking shape and the next phase will be its theming. The project is being constructed at the Hampden Wharf in Falmouth.

The Artisan Village will be a “one-stop shop” for authentic Jamaican food, music, heritage and craft.  It was designed to showcase the best of the island while enhancing interaction between visitors and locals.

Speaking at yesterday’s final tour of the facilities, Minister Bartlett said, “This Artisan Village is a long awaited, much anticipated game-changer, which was developed to respond to the need for a greater insertion of our small and medium entrepreneurs in the tourism value chain.

It was also designed to ensure that there is a unique experience for the visitor, borne from the authentic creativity of local artisans.”

The Artisan Village, which is financed by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, forms part of the wider Hampden Wharf Development project. This will be the first of a series of Artisan Villages, which will be located in resort areas across the island.

The Minister also highlighted, “I am pleased that the Artisan Village, here in Falmouth, is in its final stage of execution and we are about to officially receive the keys from the Port Authority of Jamaica.

Visitors will experience unique pieces from the creativity of our people with valuable cultural assets. Additionally, through this arrangement, more Jamaicans will benefit from our very lucrative tourism industry.”

The Hampden Wharf Development project is a collaborative effort between the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and the Urban Development Corporation and is being implemented to transform the town of Falmouth. 

The project features an extension of the Port connecting the locals with visitors; paved surfaces with mixed textures and defined paths; landscaped areas; storyboards where applicable; adaptive reuse of historic buildings; and a rich mix of retail and local eateries, craft and history.

“What is truly unique about the Artisan Village is that the eighteen Artisans who will be here will be executing on the spot against designs brought to them by visitors or the ones they want to create,” added Minister Bartlett.

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.