Chiba, Japan; October 24, 2019:  Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says Japan is among the most resilient nations in the world, based on its unprecedented recovery system, after being struck by one of the worst Typhoons in their nation's recent history.

“Japan has a sound record of bouncing back quickly and building back better, from a series of disruptions, notably the 2011 earthquake, major fires and mega-typhoons including the latest No 19 Hagibis. They are deserving of emulation and greater international recognition for being one of the most resilient nations in the world," said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister made this statement during a tour of the typhoon-affected areas of Ichihara, Chiba, alongside the city’s Mayor, Mr. Joji Koide and other key officials. The tour highlighted elements of the extraordinary relief operations undertaken and the cutting-edge technologies utilised (including drones and robots).

Chief among these, was a one-of-a-kind, multi-purpose, fire truck called Scrum Force, which has a state-of-the-art rescue and relief equipment and facilities, as well as a surveillance software integrated with drone technology and capacity. The technology behind the Scrum Force allows users to have coverage that is more expansive. This includes monitoring and responding to disasters at unprecedented speeds.

“I am very impressed with the highly-technologically advanced nature of the special fire truck. I believe it has the life-saving potential for Caribbean islands focussed on building resilience against natural disasters,” said the Minister.

The Tourism Minister called on the Mayor to not only document his town's highly effective recovery and resilience mechanism, but to also consider paying a visit to Jamaica, to share best practices on disaster risk reduction and management with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), in the spirit of deepened cooperation and friendship between Jamaica and Japan. 

"The world has much to learn from Japan... It is important that we strengthen our relationship with Japan in this regard, by developing Memorandum of Understanding between the University of the West Indies and the International University of Japan, on resilience practices in keeping with the objectives of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre we have housed in Jamaica," said the Minister. 

In registering his deep appreciation for the Minister’s and Jamaica’s solidarity with Ichihara and the wider Japanese society, the Mayor welcomed the opportunity for greater cooperation on disaster risk reduction and management, given his Town’s similar focus.

The Mayor also indicated his interest in having further dialogue with the Minister on potential partnership and participation in the GTRCMC. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 18, 2019: In his capacity of co-chairman of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is set to visit typhoon-affected areas in Japan, during his visit to the country next week.

He will visit affected areas of Chiba, which is being coordinated by the Jamaican Embassy in Japan. He will also City Mayor of Ichihara, Mr. Joji Koide, and other officials at the Mayor’s office when he arrives in Tokyo on October 23, 2019.

Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on October 12, triggering landslides and catastrophic flooding. It is now being considered as one of the deadliest typhoons to have hit Japan in the past decade.

“Our resilience centre stands ready to advance on discussions to establish a satellite centre of the GTRCM in Japan as both countries have a wealth of expertise, good practices and experiences in effectively managing the aftermath of natural disasters,” said the Minister.

He further noted that, “The establishment of satellite centres in countries such as Japan which have a track record of effectively responding to and recovering from natural disasters and other disruptions to sustainable development will enhance the growing body of research and innovative solutions for recovery.”

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, launched earlier this year, was established to  assist global tourism destinations with destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally, including climate and seismic events.

While in Japan, Minister Bartlett will be meeting with key airline representatives and tour operators to advance discussions on the recovery of the Japanese market.

Over time, Jamaica has lost significant market share from Japan and since 2013, has lost annually, an average of 6% of stop over arrivals due to a number of factors, including a downturn in the Japanese economy.

“Japan was a very good market for Jamaica 20-30 years ago. We lost that market because of a number of factors, one of which had to do with the economy of Japan and a fire that took place. The Japanese economy has rebounded and they are doing extremely well. Their outbound market is over 20 million and the appetite for Jamaica and the Caribbean is returning,” said Bartlett.

He will also meet with the Japan Tourism Agency, as well as the Chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, Mr Hiromi Tagawa to establish new marketing arrangements. A meeting is also scheduled with the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Hon. Kazuyoshi Akaba on broader areas of collaboration.

The Minister will be accompanied by officers from the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Tourism Linkages Network and the Ministry of Tourism. They will depart Jamaica on October 21, 2019.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 17, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, is urging all employers in the sector, to participate fully in the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme, which is scheduled to become operational early next year.

The first of its kind Tourism Worker’s Pension Scheme, is a contributory one that embraces some 350,000 full-time, part-time, self-employed and contract workers across the sector, including red cap porters, front desk managers, craft traders, housekeepers and raftsmen.

Speaking yesterday at the third Graduation Ceremony of the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Minister Bartlett said, “The Tourism Workers’ pension scheme represents the final prong in our commitment to human capital development.

Our workers deserve financial security at the end of their tenure, which this pension scheme will provide and so I urge all employers to get on board and support this landmark legislation.”

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is also designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 years in the tourism sector.

“We are well on our way to ensuring the scheme becomes operational. The Governor General has given his assent and i have just recently established the Board of Trustees which met earlier this week,” added Minister Bartlett.

The Board of Trustees will play a critical role in the management of the scheme starting with the review of the regulations required to make it operational. The Board’s mandate will also include management of all moneys paid, or assets transferred into the Scheme and the appointment of a Fund manager.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 14, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that Jamaica has welcomed an unprecedented seven hundred thousand (700,000) more visitors over the last three years. The tourism Minister also highlighted that the island is set to earn US3.7Billion by the end of the year, which represents an almost doubling of foreign exchange over the same period.

Speaking at the 15^th anniversary celebration of Sunset at the Palms Resort in Negril yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “The growth in our arrivals and earnings is underpinned by strategic targets set in my 5x5x5 plan. In 2016, our target was to bring 5Million visitors and earn US5Billion by 2021, now we are already at 4.5Million visitors of the 5Million and US3.7Billion of that 5Billion in earnings.”

Current data from the Jamaica Tourist Board, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, has forecasted growth in stopover arrivals for September to December of 7% or 807,796, which would end the calendar year 2019 with 2.68M arrivals or an 8.4% increase over 2018. The earnings from the full year of stopover arrivals is estimated at US$3.49Billion or a 12% increase over 2018.

Data also shows that overall, Jamaica’s winter season is trending strong with the Canadian market up by 29,000 new seats; the United States showing double digit growth and South America and the Caribbean doing well.

With stopover and cruise arrivals combined, the island is expected to welcome 4.303 million visitors by the end of the year.

“Based on these figures, tourism has become the leading contributor to the growth in GDP in Jamaica. We recognize also that with this growth, comes an even greater responsibility to ensure safety, security and seamlessness in the destination and we remain committed to keeping our enviable record of visitor safety.” added Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also highlighted that the unprecedented growth in arrivals and earnings could not be done without the sector’s dedicated workers who remain the key ingredient in the continued success of the sector.

Sunset at the Palms resort, which recently marked its 15^th anniversary, was the first in the world to receive certification for Environmentally Sustainable Tourism by the U.K.’s Green Globe. The resort has also won the prestigious Governor General’s Award for overall architectural design among many others. The management of the hotel, led by Mr. Ian Kerr, recognized several members of staff for their years of service to the hotel at their celebration yesterday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 07, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has called for the establishment of a Tourism Resilience Fund, which will be the region’s first funding facility specifically designed to assist highly-susceptible tourist destinations in the region.

The call was made in Incheon, South Korea today at the second edition of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) global conference on private investment for climate change.

The Minister was speaking on the panel “Raising the bar for private sector Climate Action— Latin America & the Caribbean” at the Green Climate Fund Private investment for climate conference.

The GCF Private Investment for Climate Conference is a global marketplace and ecosystem where leading private sector actors including project sponsors, institutional investors, financial institutions, climate leaders, and the public sector come together to accelerate climate action in developing countries.

Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness was Keynote speaker at the event, which had representatives from over 200 countries.

The Fund would be designed to help to build capacity to respond to disruptive threats to the region’s economic sustainability, particularly those related to climate change impacts.

The call for the establishment of this special fund comes against the backdrop of the acute existential threat that environmental disasters, linked to the phenomena of climate change and global warming, have been increasingly posing to Caribbean economies, which are the most tourism-dependent in the world.

During his presentation, Minister Bartlett argued that the devastation caused by hurricanes Maria and Irma to thirteen of the region’s most tourism-dependent economies during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, resulted in the region losing over US $1 billion in tourism revenues.

He also noted that the recent devastation of the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, following the passage of hurricane Dorian, which battered the islands for almost 72-hours, underscore the importance and urgency of establishing a funding facility of this nature.

Given the enormous economic impact of the tourism industry on regional economies, Minister Bartlett stated that the Resilience Fund will not only enhance tourism resilience in the region but it will also help to avert the widespread socio-economic fallout that is usually associated with major disasters in the region by ensuring that countries are better prepared. 

The Fund will particularly target those destinations which are deemed as experiencing high climate vulnerability and which have demonstrably insufficient financial capacity to prepare for and recover from disruptions. 

Minister Bartlett made the call as the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which he co-chairs, prepares to host its second Tourism Resilience Summit from October 9-10 at the University of the West Indies’ Regional Headquarters, in Jamaica.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 7, 2019: Luxury and lifestyle travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler, has ranked S Hotel in Montego Bay  and the Kanopi House in Portland as #1 and #6 best hotels in the Caribbean and Central America, respectively, in its 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.

The 120-room S Hotel, owned and operated by the Crissa Group, was also ranked the 36th Best Hotel in the World.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett extended congratulations to the hoteliers, whose accolades   will further promote Jamaica as the destination of choice for the region.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate the management and staff of the S Hotel and the Kanopi House for being listed in the 2019 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards list.  These accolades will go a far way in helping us to promote brand Jamaica to new audiences,” said the Minister.

He further noted that, “I am particularly proud of the S Hotel which has ranked #1, after being operational for less than a year. The S Hotel is Jamaican owned and Jamaican managed and we are exceptionally proud of Christopher Issa’s undivided commitment and dedication to the tourism sector and to his country. We look forward to hearing more about the many other accolades to come.”

The Best Hotels in the World list ranked the 50 best hotels in the world according to 600,000 registered voters from the Condé Nast Traveler’s site.

The magazine described the S Hotel property as having “a bit of South Beach glitz” with ocean view rooms that “are big enough to pass for apartments in some big cities.” It also lauded the property for “artfully combining discreet urban sophistication and a laidback resort lifestyle offering guests an authentic Jamaican cultural experience.”

The Kanopi House is a collection of eco-chic treehouses nestled high amongst 100-foot Banyans and rooted deep in Jamaican culture.  The treehouses were designed and built by owners Brian and Jennifer Hew on six-acres in Portland, Jamaica. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 04, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry will be hosting the Second Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas, under the theme “Building Tourism Resilience for Sustainable Development’. The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled to take place on October 9 and 10, at The University of the West Indies’ Regional Headquarters.

Under the theme, ‘Tourism Resilience for Sustainable Development’, the 2nd Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas will examine and further explore the experience, best practices, and lessons learnt from tourism climatic resilience initiatives around the world.

More specifically, the objectives of the summit will be to examine and highlight the lessons learnt from tourism climatic resilience initiatives; examine emerging issues surrounding tourism climatic resilience and sustainable development.

“I anticipate fruitful discussions on capacity building and effective responses to such global disruptions, including tools for effective recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. It is the goal that destinations should not only rebound but also continue to thrive on a path towards development post disruptions,” said the Minister.

The issues to be examined at the two-day international summit will include Corporate Social Responsibility; Leadership; Collaboration and Partnerships; Risk Management Solutions; Legal and Regulatory Frameworks; Communications and the Media; Crisis Management; Tools and Systems; Capacity Building; Research and Development; The Use of Digital Technologies and the Sargassum Threat.

Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which is spearheading the event, Professor Lloyd Waller, also highlighted that “the Resilience Summit of the Americas will be a game changer in terms of the exchange of ideas on resilience and resilience building.”

Speakers for the event include: Former UNWTO Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai; Professor the Hon. Ambassador Richard Bernal; UNESCO Co-Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability & MAIS Program Coordinator, Professor James Randall; CDEMA’s Executive Director, Mr Ronald Jackson and Ingenuity Technologies CEO, Melarka Williams.

Other speakers are Jacobs Media Group’s Daniela Wagner; Founding Director, Global Resilience Institute, Dr. Stephen Flynn; Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Montego Bay President, Janet Silvera; Professor Donna Hope; Finn Partner’s Gail Mooney and CEO Omie AR, Omar Itum.

It is expected that the papers and report from the summit will help to shape policy and strategic frameworks globally, specifically as it relates to enhancing the resilience of worldwide destinations.

“These presentations and other expected outcomes of the summit will contribute to policy formulation and the development of strategic frameworks, specifically as it relates to building resilience of tourism destinations worldwide.  I look forward to the upcoming publication of the ‘Journal of Tourism Resilience’ which will include some of the papers from this meeting,” said the Minister. 

TORONTO, Canada; October 2, 2019: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett today announced that a Sunwing Travel Group led luxury Planet Hollywood Hotel & Resort will break ground in Trelawny next year. 

This follows a meeting in Toronto, Canada today with President and CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, Stephen Hunter. Minister Bartlett said it was agreed that the development of the over 600 room hotel will move forward.

“The addition of these rooms to Trelawny will give the area a major boost in terms of job creation, linkages with many other areas of the Jamaican economy including agriculture and other social and economic opportunities. It will also impact our overall arrivals for the country which continues to see unprecedented growth in visitors and earnings,” said Minister Bartlett.

Planet Hollywood Hotels & Resorts offer an engaging and interactive experience, incorporating popular culture from movies, music, sports, and entertainment into every guest’s stay and is one of world's most recognizable brands. 

“Additional room stock remains a pillar in ensuring Jamaica has new and exciting offerings to attract more visitors to our shores. This is part of our strategic planning to keep Jamaica top of mind and boost our arrivals and earnings,” added Minister Bartlett.

The Minister is in Canada with Jamaica Tourist Board officials including JTB Head Donovan White for a series of meetings with key stakeholders.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 1, 2019: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says his Ministry will be placing special focus on increasing arrivals from Japan by implementing new marketing arrangements.

Speaking at a press briefing today at the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Kingston office, the Minister noted that he would be leading a team in Japan later this month to meet with key officials and stakeholders to recover the Japanese market, which he lamented was much stronger 30 years ago. 

“Japan was a very good market for Jamaica 20-30 years ago. We lost that market because of a number of factors, one of which had to do with the economy of Japan and a fire that took place. The Japanese economy has rebounded and they are doing extremely well. Their outbound market is over 20 million and the appetite for Jamaica and the Caribbean is returning,” said Minister Bartlett.

He further noted that, “The good news is that we now have arrangements with main carriers. Out of Japan, we have a strong programme with Delta as well as American Airlines, which both have co-sharing arrangements with airlines out of Japan. There is now the gateway of Panama, which is connected directly into Japan.”

While in Japan, the Minister is expected to meet with the Japan Tourism Agency, as well as the Chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, Mr Hiromi Tagawa to establish the new marketing arrangements. He will also meet with The Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Hon. Kazuyoshi Akaba on broader areas of collaboration.

Jamaica will also be a major exhibitor at Tourism EXPO Japan 2019, scheduled for October 24 and 25.  The event will focus on tourism as a major factor for the revitalization of regional economy and job creations. It is one of the largest tourism expositions of its kind in the world.

Other key markets the Ministry will focus on include India and South America.

“India is now the fastest growing economy in the world, with a growing middle-class. They have perhaps the best wedding market in the world. Jamaica will be tapping into that. We have a representative in India now and work has already started. We are also partnering with Indian tour operators and travel agents,” said the Minister.

He noted that work to improve the South American market has already began, with arrangements in place for the island to receive more visitors from the region beginning in December.

“LATAM, which is the largest and most important carrier operating in the South American area, will inaugurate a flight which will have  three-rotations into Montego Bay on the first of December.

We will go to Lima and be on that first flight which will be a historic event for tourism in Jamaica. Jamaica will now have 14 rotations coming from South America, starting from December,” said the Minister.

To ensure that the country’s growth projections for 2020 into 2021 are secured, the Jamaica Tourist Board has also constructed a very strong marketing programme, which begins tomorrow in Canada.

The Minister is therefore scheduled to head to Canada tomorrow with the Director of Tourism, Mr Donovan White. While there, they will be meeting with stakeholders and members of the Diaspora.

“These new marketing arrangements are critical to resilience building. Jamaica is being proactive in our efforts to ensure our markets are secure, so that if there is a fallout from one end, we can pick up on the other end and keep our growth momentum on the level we project,” said the Minister.

“As of now, we have an increment of 150,000 more stopover arrivals for the year so far, which is a record. This represents an 8.6 percent increase over last year. In terms of our earnings, there was an increase of approximately 10.2 percent more earnings. Our initial projection was for US$3.6 billion, but this has now increased to US$3.7 billion,” he added.

LONDON, United Kingdom; September 27, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has applauded the eight tour operators who won big at the Jamaica Tourist Board’s annual awards at the Jamaica Travel Market gala dinner yesterday.

The awards recognise the UK and Nordic tour operators and agencies that have achieved the largest growth in room night production to Jamaica during 2018 and were presented by Minister Bartlett.

“These tour operators are the faces and voices that help to sell destination Jamaica in this our third largest source market. Their consistent work through marketing the island has ensured that Jamaica remains top of mind as a potential vacation spot,” said Minister Bartlett.

 

Winners for the largest business growth during 2018 were:

UK Tour Operator – British Airways Holidays

UK Travel Agency/Tour Operator – Lotus / Dial A Flight

UK Online Tour Operator – Love Holidays

UK Charter Tour Operator – TUI UK

Nordic Tour Operator - Ving

UK Long Haul Specialist Tour Operator – Kenwood Travel

UK Caribbean Specialist Travel Company – Sackville Travel

‘Your Choice Award’ – Favourite UK Tour Operator – Virgin Holidays (Scott Edwards)

Minister Bartlett added that, “We gladly acknowledge our dedicated industry partners who have been increasing business to Jamaica and this year we have seen a record number of UK visitors travelling to Jamaica.”

In addition, to the JTB’s annual awards, Jamaican hoteliers and tourism companies voted for their favourite UK tour operator in the Jamaica Tourism Partners ‘Your Choice’ award category. On the night, to raise money for Jamaica Tourist Board’s chosen charity partner, the Sandals Foundation, one lucky winner walked away with holiday to Jamaica courtesy of Sandals and British Airways.

Minister Bartlett is accompanied by Mr. Donovan White, Director of Tourism and will return to the island on September 30, 2019.