MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Friday, July 12, 2019:  A new marketing gateway is being opened by way of the tourism linkages strategy, for the “the ordinary Jamaican” to benefit from dollar resources of the growing industry.

An indication of this working was given by Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett yesterday as he delivered the keynote address at a ceremony renaming a street in honour of Hon. Godfrey Dyer. As of yesterday, the Sunset Boulevard which links directly with the Sangster International Airport, is to be known as Godfrey Dyer Boulevard.

Regarding the dollar-earning plan, Minister Bartlett divulged that “We’re looking at how to make the ordinary Jamaican who lives within the areas of the hotels to become suppliers of the inputs of tourism.”

The initiative is evolving in Lilliput, St James, home of the Iberostar Hotels. According to Minister Bartlett, there “small suppliers, using old tyres, discarded pans and other receptacles and borrowing on the technology of hydroponics, are now producing tomatoes and bell peppers that are now ready for the market, and Iberostar is ready to buy.”

The Tourism Minister said while that may seem to be a little thing, “it is big thing because once that is replicated you will find that the ordinary man who thought that living around the hotel only meant working for the hotel, is now going to find that he can be a big supplier to the hotel that is across the road from him.”  That, he said, was a “big thing for inclusiveness in terms of this industry.”

Mr. Dyer and the Tourism Linkages Network, which falls under the Tourism Enhancement Fund, were commended for this innovation “because it is going to be a big game-changer in terms of the ability to retain the dollar that we earn in tourism in the communities that are around the tourism area.”

Regarding Mr. Dyer, Minister Bartlett catalogued an encyclopaedia of his achievements and lauded him for a lifetime of unstinting service in both the public and private sectors. He said the event was really about extolling Mr Dyer’s virtues “and who has dedicated himself and his life to the building and enhancing of this great city of Montego Bay.”

Having played a pivotal role in the creation of the Tourism Enhancement Fund while serving as president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association, Mr Dyer is now in his second term as chairman of TEF. Under his Chairmanship Minister Bartlett declared, “Godfrey has done a tremendous job with the fund especially as it relates to the level of development it has supported.”

Montego Bay, regarded as the main pillar of the island’s tourism industry, has seen more development than any other entity, said Mr Bartlett. “Absolutely no entity has provided more capital injection in the development of Montego Bay than the Tourism Enhancement Fund under the chairmanship of Godfrey Dyer,” he said.

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; June 29, 2019: The recently established Global Tourism and Crisis Management Centre is set to partner with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct research on the potential threat of sargassum to the destination and wider Caribbean.

Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they inhabit shallow water and coral reefs.

Minister Bartlett, who made the announcement at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s 58^th Annual General Meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Montego Bay today, said, “The issue of managing sargassum has become more urgent since large quantities of different species of the algae accumulated along the shores of many of the countries on the Caribbean Sea in 2015.

Sargassum, as a disruptive phenomenon, can negatively impact our destination as when washed up on shore, it often causes a foul odour, releasing fumes of sulphur compounds that rust metals, and damage modern conveniences.”

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which will open its door in October at the University of the West Indies, Mona, is tasked with assessing (research/monitor), plan-for, forecast, mitigate, and manage risks related to tourism resilience and crisis management. This will be achieved through five objectives - Research and Development, Advocacy and Communication, Programme/Project Design and Management, as well as Training and Capacity Building.

“The Centre will be partnering with MIT, one of the leading research institutions out of the U.S, to explore the best possible strategies that Jamaica and the Caribbean can implement to be proactive and prevent sargassum from populating our shores,” added Minister Bartlett.

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; June 29, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has announced that he will be reviewing the report on the intensive island wide security audit of the sector soon. The audit was carried out by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) with support from well-known international security expert Dr. Peter Tarlow.

Minister Bartlett, who made the announcement at the 58^th Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at the Hilton Hotel in Montego Bay today, said, “I am pleased to inform all stakeholders that the report on this very critical security audit is nearly completed and I will be reviewing the document next week.

The findings, which will be used to help reshape safety, security and seamlessness in the sector, are also being reviewed by the team from the TPDCo and the Ministry of Tourism.”

Minister Bartlett commissioned the security audit to ensure that the destination remains safe, secure and seamless for visitors and locals alike.

Minister Bartlett added that, “My ministry remains committed to safety and security which is at the core of destination assurance. Once the findings are reviewed, we will inform the public of the next steps.

As security arrangements are part of the licensing requirements for many sector operators we will be applying tough sanctions to any significant weakness or breaches that are found.”

Additionally, the highly anticipated report from the Tourism Working Group, headed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers Senior Partner, Wilfred Baghaloo, is now ready. The Working Group was established by Minister Bartlett to conduct a comprehensive review of issues in the sector including entertainment, work permits and transportation, among others.

“This is another very important report that will help inform our next steps. The Ministry is studying the report and will discuss the findings with the sector ahead of crafting a new architecture for indigenous stakeholders and inclusiveness in the tourism value chain,” Minister Bartlett concluded.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 26, 2019: The Tourism Worker’s Pension Bill is closer to becoming a reality following the passage of the Bill by the House of Representatives yesterday.

Speaking at the close of the debate for the Bill in Parliament, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, said the move represents, “A landmark legislation and the passage of this Bill will make Jamaica the world leader in providing tourism workers with social security.

It represents a commitment by the government to the social market arrangement which is to ensure that the appropriate legislation and regulations are developed to protect the most vulnerable.”

The Bill, which was tabled in Parliament on April 30 by Minister Bartlett, will now be put to the Senate to be passed. It will establish a defined pension scheme for tourism workers and self-employed tourism workers to be known as the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme, from which retirement benefits will be paid in respect of each member and ancillary benefits for beneficiaries.

Minister Bartlett said, “This Bill is coming at a time when tourism is experiencing unprecedented growth globally and locally. For the first half of the year, Jamaica has welcomed 2 million visitors and earned close to US2Billion.

All this development and growth means tourism must take greater responsibility to ensure a greater sense of equity for our most treasured assets, our human resource.”

The new pension Bill will start with an endowment of $1 billion from the Ministry of Tourism, which will be paid in installments and will ensure that immediate benefits accrue to qualified pensioners who have met the vested period of five years.

Minister Bartlett added that, “The Bill represents a prong in our human capital development plan to professionalize our workers and allow them to have stackable credentials. We have looked a series of training arrangements, from high schools to tertiary and within the working environment itself, to ensure their marketability.

This Bill, which is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, will include everybody who works in the sector, no matter the category or contract period, and they will have an equal opportunity to become a member of this pension plan.”

Baku, Azerbaijan; June 18, 2019: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that for tourism to be truly sustainable there must be greater equality among all stakeholders and a more equitable distribution of tourism earnings.

He was speaking at the 110th Executive Council meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Monday (June 17) at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan.  The three-day Executive Council meeting is taking place from June 16 – 18, 2019.

With revenues from international tourism totalling US$1.7 trillion in 2018 and one in 11 of the world’s jobs generated by tourism, Minister Bartlett said, “It begs the question of the distribution of this enormous wealth and the impact that it is having on the highly tourism dependent regions of the earth.”

He noted a real concern as many of the countries that have the highest level of tourism dependence, like the Caribbean with a GDP dependence of 40% or more and the US Virgin Islands with 98.5% dependence on tourism, are characterized also by high unemployment, a high debt to GDP ratio, social concerns and high levels of income inequality.

He also pointed to statistics which indicate that 80% of global tourism is owned by Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) but less than 20% of the returns go to them.

“This is hugely disturbing and creates asymmetry and imbalance, and that picture doesn’t look so good,” Minister Bartlett said.  

He said the tourism focused discussions at the UNWTO Executive Council meeting, provided “an opportunity for us to take a greater dive into understanding how this great industry of ours must impact the world in a more positive way by creating greater elements of equality, inclusiveness and most of all to build the capacity of tourism-dependent regions to not just recover and grow but to thrive”.

Minister Bartlett took the opportunity to welcome the announcement by the United States of America that it is considering returning to the UNWTO.  The announcement was made earlier in the day by Ms. Emma Doyle, Assistant to US President Donald Trump and Principal Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House.  “The return of the US can only help to make the Americas stronger as a tourist destination,” he noted.

Baku, Azerbaijan; June 17, 2019: Minister of Tourism for Jamaica, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett yesterday (June 16) met with some of the leading partners in the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM) to discuss projects and deliverables the Centre will commence following the opening of its new physical facility on Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in October this year.

The special dinner meeting was held at the Hilton Baku in Azerbaijan in the margins of the 110th United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council Meeting, taking place June 16 – 18, 2019 in Baku.

Minister Bartlett gave an overview of four critical projects, including the establishment of a barometer to measure resilience and set the standards for certification/accreditation of countries across the world; setting up an International Journal of Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management; building a  compendium of best practices based on the experience of countries that  have managed disruptions well and those that  have not; and establishing an Academic Chair at the UWI with responsibility for studies in innovation, resilience and crisis management.

The issue of Corporate Social Responsibility was also raised at Sunday’s meeting. “Corporate Social responsibility is central to the sustainable development of tourism as it is for most industries but particularly tourism because of its extractive nature,” said the Tourism Minister.

“Tourism pulls a lot from communities so we need to have them involved. We need also to have inclusiveness for people with special needs and lifestyle differences in providing the world with the best opportunity to access the rich resources that exist within the people of these communities,” he added.

Minister Bartlett said the meeting brought a fresh energy to the discussion while bringing a new commitment to resource development. “So after the Centre’s official opening in October, we can get into action so that it fulfils its role of not being just a Centre for academic research but an action Centre where results are realized and implemented,” said Minister Bartlett.

In attendance were Ms. Jennifer Griffith, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jamaica; Ambassador Dho Young-Shim, a member of the GTRCM Board of Governors; Ms. Elena Kountoura, a member of the European Union for Greece; Mr. Spiros Pantos, Special Advisor to Elena Kountoura; Hon. Didier Dogley, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine for the Seychelles; and Ms. Isabel Hill, Director, National Travel and Tourism Office, US Department of Commerce.

The GTRCM is dedicated to helping vulnerable states across the world recover quickly from disruptions and crisis that threaten economies and livelihoods globally, using real time data and effective communication. It recently took on a new global perspective with the announcement of regional Centres to be established over the next eight weeks in Nepal, Japan, Malta and Hong Kong.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 8, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed the newly opened Blanche Blackwell suite at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, saying it will add to the ‘opinionated experience’ of guests.

Speaking at the official ribbon cutting of the suite at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston yesterday, Minister Bartlett said the suite will, “Help to show the style and ambiance of early 20^th century Jamaica and points to the opulence of the regal society at that time.

The suite is also part of the historic process as well as the cultural assets that have become part of Jamaica’s heritage.”

Blanche Blackwell, mother of music icon and hotelier, Hon Christopher Blackwell, was a Jamaican heiress with heritage in Cosa Rica and association with renowned James Bond author Ian Flemming.

Minister Bartlett said also, “For tourism, what this suite will do is bring exceptional value to the product. To be in a suite of the mother of one of the most celebrated musical producers of the period is a story that you want to be told and experience.

It will allow an interface with the culture of a period that you never knew.”

The Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, opened in 1959, is Kingston’s only AAA Four-Diamond rated hotel. It is a luxury boutique hotel providing award-winning accommodations, cuisine and banqueting services to the local and international communities.

“It is only fitting that this historical suite where the Hon Christopher Blackwell was born, be unveiled in tandem with the hotel’s 60^th anniversary.

The terra nova has become a very iconic city of Kingston tourism facility not just because of the period of architecture that we relate but a lifestyle of Jamaica’s upper class at that time,” added Minister Bartlett.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 7, 2019:  Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness noted that while Jamaica’s record visitor arrivals and earnings indicated that Government policy is working and investors see Jamaica as a place to come and do business, bureaucracy is hindering the country’s growth and development.

He was giving the keynote address yesterday evening (June 6) at the official opening of the 48-room R Hotel at the hotel’s rooftop Redbones Blues Cafe in New Kingston and responding to remarks by R Hotel Director Evan Williams that the property took 13 years from concept to realization.  

“That is not something for which we are proud and that explains a lot; why we have not achieved the rapid growth that this country is destined to experience,” Prime Minister Holness said.

He said that despite external shocks like rising oil prices, terrorism and climate change, which have had an impact on Jamaica, largely the responsibility for not achieving our true growth path lies with us.  “We have to be truthful to ourselves because things that are within are authority, capability and capacity to do well and speedily, we have not done them,” he noted.

The Prime Minister said that to become a modern, growth enabling and supportive public sector we must ensure compliance as a counter to corruption and ensure efficiency to promote growth.

“No wonder our growth is low because  the speed at which we are giving approvals, the  speed at which our bureaucracy works is not in sync with the speed of business  and the speed  we need to have in order to grow. If we claim to be the Usain Bolt country of the world let’s take that speed that we have on the track and get our projects on track,” he encouraged.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, noting positive developments in the local tourism sector, announced that for the first time in history Jamaica welcomed some two million visitors in the first five months of the year and earned US$1.7 billion in revenue.

Minister Bartlett said that the R Hotel represents the new drive in Jamaica not only to increase numbers but also to add value to the experiences of visitors who come here. Noting the serious efforts to retain more of the tourism dollar in Jamaica he commended the R Hotel for supporting local suppliers by outfitting the hotel with Jamaica-made furnishing and by promoting local culture and food through the hotel’s Gene Pearson Gallery and Red Bones Blues Café.

“This is an exciting part of this retention strategy that we have because when the supplies that the tourist consumes are bought, brought and produced in Jamaica then the dollar remains here.  This has resulted in an increase in retention from 30% to 40.8%,” the Tourism Minister said.

In his remarks R Hotel Director Joe Bogdanovich said the opening of the hotel brings with it new possibilities for the expansion of Brand Jamaica through business tourism in the capital.  “Kingston has enormous potential for both business and conventional tourism and we in the industry must continue to innovate in order to make Kinston the premier city to conduct business in the Caribbean,” he told the large crowd of tourism stakeholders and private sector and government representatives.

R Hotel is the city’s first extended stay business hotel. The newest addition to Kingston’s room stock is a collaboration between noted architect Evan Williams and entertainment mogul/investor Joe Bogdanovich.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tuesday, May 28, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has lauded the work of former Prime Minister, the Most Hon Edward Phillip George Seaga, who passed away today, on his 89^th birthday.

Minister Bartlett who has spent most of his 35 years in politics under the leadership of Mr. Seaga, described him as “an icon and a champion of the people of Jamaica” and “perhaps the greatest social engineer and builder of political institutions as well as economic structures that Jamaica has seen since independence.”

Minister Bartlett also highlighted that Mr. Seaga was the man that “Jamaica is indebted to for the creation of so many important social constructs that have helped to redefine the nation and build a consciousness in terms of our own self-worth as well as our cultural identity.” 

Mr. Seaga was instrumental in raising Jamaica’s independence festival to being a major national event, exposing the country’s cultural heritage in music, cuisine, literary arts and the talents of the people in various areas of life and Minister Bartlett said that “His work in the field of cultural development is simply phenomenal and unmatched.”

Mr. Seaga became Prime Minister in 1980 after leading the JLP to a resounding victory at the polls over his arch political rival and leader of the People’s National Party, Michael Manley. “His leadership in government during the most difficult period in our history is certainly a landmark which all responded to with great satisfaction; that he came at a time when Jamaica needed to be delivered and made a path for reconstruction and redevelopment which today the country has benefitted from in terms of the growth that we are experiencing,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is among the many agencies established by Mr. Seaga.

On a personal note, Minister Bartlett said, “He has made an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of us and I number among those who, because of his own stamp and mark, has been made to contribute a little to the development of Jamaica over the last 30-odd years.”

Minister Bartlett added that he regarded his own encounter with Mr. Seaga as “A game-changing and life-changing experience” and that “I am indebted to him for so much that he has taught me in terms of respect for people, honouring traditions and making sure that my contribution is worthy at all times.”

While mourning Mr. Seaga’s passing, Minister Bartlett said he also celebrated his life even as he remembered that, “His point always to me was, ‘Son, it’s not about you, it’s about the cause that you serve and so serve it well with diligence and with pride’.” 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 28, 2019: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett is expected to participate in the first Asian Resilience Summit, being held in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 31, 2019. 

The Minister received this invitation from Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board, who requested that he join other global leaders of travel and tourism, in a panel discussion on tourism resilience.

“Jamaica is very happy to share our expertise on tourism resilience at this very critical global conference being hosted in Nepal. We hope to share the best practices learned from this event with the rest of the world through the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which will be fully-operational in a few months. I also look forward to sharing insights into the role of the Centre and its significance to global tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

The overall goal of the Centre, which is located at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, will be to assess (research/monitor), plan-for, forecast, mitigate, and manage risks related to tourism resilience and crisis management.

According to organisers, the Minister’s session in Nepal will specifically highlight countries that have harnessed the economic drivers of tourism and ensured resiliency through proper positioning of the sector.  Other panellists in this discussion include, Dr. Taleb Rifai, Chairman of the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council; H.E. Jing Xu, Regional Director of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); and Ian Taylor, Executive Editor of Travel Weekly Group.

Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, was also invited to speak in a panel on communication and training. During the discussions, panellists will share their experiences in communication plans prior to, during and post crisis.

The summit forms part of the activities of the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council (GTTRC) which was developed to provide a platform for professionals from various industries to share information and best practices regarding resilience, crises, and disasters – both man-made and natural – in the context of tourism.

It will have a strong focus on the benefits of marketing to the intrepid traveller, as well as wider affinity markets, perception, brand management and communication, entrepreneurial spirit, government programs and philosophies that can be developed or deployed for other destinations’ resiliency planning. 

During his visit, the Minister will meet with the Former UNWTO Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, regarding the recovery strategies for Nepal’s post-earthquake programme, at the request of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Minister Bartlett will later travel to the US Virgin Islands to participate at the Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network on Post- Disaster Recovery during the period June 3-4, 2019.  This Action Network brings together leaders from across sectors to develop new, specific, and measurable plans that advance recovery and promote long-term resiliency across the region.

The meeting will outline innovative programmes in the tourism sector and sustainable practices that are inclusive of Small and Medium Enterprises and conducive of economic growth.

The Minister is accompanied by Professor Lloyd Waller, Senior Advisor/Consultant and Miss Anna-Kay Newell his Executive Assistant, in Nepal. Professor Waller and Miss Newell will return to Jamaica on June 1, 2019. 

The Minister, however, will return to Jamaica on June 6, 2019, as he will be attending the meeting of the CGI Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery in the US Virgin Islands alone.

The Government of Nepal is funding the Minister’s participation in the Asian Resilience Summit.