KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 08, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre is scheduled to open by the first week in October at a newly refurbished J$27 million facility housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

“We have our first conference scheduled for the first week in October of this year, so we would like to bring the Board members from all over the world to come and to see the Centre functional and operational, whilst we are hosting the event,” said Minister Bartlett.

The overall goal of the Centre will be to assess (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.

It will specifically be tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to assist with preparatory and recovery efforts of tourism stakeholders affected by climatic, pandemic, cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism related disruptions.

Speaking yesterday at a site visit of the facility, the Minister said, “We are grateful to the University for allowing us the use of the space and more so to enable us to make it the kind of facility that we can be happy to welcome the world to participate here in great things and other kinds of cerebral activities. This partnership will give Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world a new opportunity to understand global disruptions.”

The Centre is focusing on four key deliverables that at this time. One is the establishment of an academic journal, which will be a compendium of scholarly publications, on various elements of the five segments of disruptions. The editorial board has been established, headed by Professor Lee Miles of Bournemouth University, with the assistance of George Washington University.

The other deliverables include: a compendium of best practices/ a blueprint for resilience; a resilience barometer to measure the resilience in countries and provide benchmarks to guide countries; and to establish an academic chair at the University of West Indies for innovation and resilience

“UWI will completely refurbish the Centre, which will include a well-appointed conference room, which will enable us to have the video conference technology needed to have virtual meetings to connect a number of board members who operate in different parts of the world.  It will include an office for the chairman and two other offices for deputy directors as well as the executive director, who I am very pleased to share is Prof Lloyd Waller from the UWI..

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre will be staffed by local, regional and internationally recognized experts and professionals, in the fields of:  climate management, project management, tourism management, tourism risk management, tourism crisis management, communication management, tourism marketing and branding as well as monitoring and evaluation.

It will also provide research fellowship opportunities for individuals seeking to either expand their knowledge or, gain experience in tourism resilience and crisis management, through postdoctoral research, and internships for undergraduate and graduate students in fields of study related to tourism resilience and crisis management

“We know that the presence of the first ever Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at the Mona campus is going to begin a whole new process of engagement in the Caribbean, in terms of global tourism activities here. We see this as a big part of the thought leadership and role that the Caribbean is now playing in global tourism.

“We are excited about the future of tourism, the opportunities for more research, the greater appreciation of how to manage disruptions and how to identify and track these disruptions. Then, the most important factor is the recovery process,” said the Minister.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 8, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says for the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS) to be truly relevant to the region it must look beyond investments in accommodation and encourage investment in experiential marketing arrangements that will keep the Caribbean competitive and cutting edge at all times.

Minister Bartlett pointed out that while 15,000 rooms are to be constructed in the next five years, “the essence of tourism for the Caribbean is not about building more rooms, it is about building the capacity of the region to absorb the demand that tourism brings.”

“This capacity resides in our ability to invest more in the experiences that are consumed by the visitor because those experiences tend to be local and these local experiences are owned by the people of the region. It is that ownership of the indigenous experiences that allows for the retention of the dollar in our space,” he noted.

The Tourism Minister was giving the main address at the CHICOS press launch yesterday (May 7) at the Terra Nova Hotel, Kingston.  The conference, considered a must-attend annual event for anyone interested in tourism and hospitality in the Caribbean, will be held from November 14-15 at Secrets Resorts in Montego Bay. 

Pointing out that people travel to fulfil their passions, Minister Bartlett noted that 88% of the world travels for food experiences and 42% of travellers’ total expenditure is on food while 67% of the world travels for shopping experiences.  Health and wellness, sport and entertainment and knowledge were some of the other passion points that motivate people to travel.

“So I want to encourage you in planning the conference to pitch the supply side – what the tourist consumes when they get to the destination. Hotel rooms and accommodation are only the places where visitors sleep. The tourist does not travel to sleep. So sleeping is not the issue; the issue is experiences,” Minister Bartlett said, noting that this was how the Ministry was able to increase the tourism dollar retention from 30% to 40.8% in the last three and a half years.

In his address, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agricultural, Hon. Floyd Green said that while the tourism sector continues to show rapid annual growth, there have also been deliberate and prioritized key initiatives to facilitate local and foreign direct investments to drive growth of the Jamaican economy, including the tourism sector. 

One of these initiatives is the National Investment Policy (NIP), which once finalized will act as a comprehensive policy framework to guide the development, administration and monitoring of the investment community. The other initiatives are implementation of the National Business Portal (NBP), an online platform that will house the Business-to-Government (B2G) online interface for all Government entities involved in the investment or business facilitation process as well as a drive to achieve a Top 10 rank in the 2021 Doing Business Report (DBR).

The two-day conference will bring together some 300 regional and international delegates, including governmental representatives, developers, bankers, tourism officials, hotel industry leaders, to explore possibilities for hospitality development in Jamaica and in the wider Caribbean.

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is a planning partner for the conference along with AM Resorts, HVS Global Hospitality Services and Apple Leisure Group. Sponsors include the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tuesday, April 30, 2019: Jamaica is being prepared for a boom in hotel rooms over the next five years. It is expected that 12,000 new rooms will be added to existing room stock over that period, brining millions of US dollar investment to the island.

The investment line-up includes US$250 million by H10 Hotels to build 1000 rooms in Trelawny and over US$500 million by Amaterra to build out 5000 rooms across a multifaceted development also in that parish, starting with at least 1,200 hotel rooms for which ground was recently broken.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett outlined these investment deals at his Sectoral presentation in Parliament yesterday.

“Jamaica’s tourism is experience record growth in arrivals and earnings and this has attracted more investment in our highly sought after product. What we are seeing is surge in hotel construction and expansion from various chains who see Jamaica as a very viable tourist destination.

 In fact, data from JAMPRO has indicated that Foreign Direct Investments in 2017 generated US$173.11 million or 19.5% of total Foreign Direct Investment,” said Minister Bartlett

The parish of Hanover is set for an investment of US$500 million by Princess Hotels & Resorts on 2000 rooms while Hard Rock will be building 1100 rooms in Montego Bay.

Over in St Ann, the first phase of the Karisma development will see US$200 million invested in building 800 rooms and Moon Palace is to spend USD$160 million in 700 rooms.

Recently, 120 rooms were opened at S Hotel in Montego Bay and later this year the Wyndam Hotel in Kingston will add 250 more rooms with 220 by AC Marriott, also in Kingston.

Outlining these projects, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett expressed elation that his target of having 5,000 hotel rooms within five years earning US$5 billion, was being exceeded, as he made his presentation in Parliament’s Sectoral Debate today.

Even as the development of hotel rooms continue apace, Minister Bartlett reported to the House that the tourism y was undergoing daily changes requiring appropriate response to remain relevant, fashionable and viable. This, he said, called for innovation and the development of new systems, processes and methodologies to reimagine the sector.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 18, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has accepted an invitation to become an advisor to international travel writers’ group — Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA).

The invitation was made by the group’s Secretary General, Sagur Ahluwalia last Friday, who shared that the Minister’s rich experience will be beneficial to the organization.

In expressing his gratitude, Minister Bartlett said, “It is an honour to have been selected as an advisor to the prestigious PATWA organization. I offer my services to the organization and hope that we are able to share ideas which will have a positive impact on the growth of tourism both regionally and internationally.”

PATWA is a professional organisation of travel writers which was founded in 1998, at the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Its founding philosophy is to support PATA's primary objectives of being a catalyst for responsibly developing the travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.

Minister Bartlett was this year awarded the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) Tourism Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism for 2018 in Berlin, Germany

During the awards presentation, Jamaica also received PATWA’s International Travel Award for Destination of the Year.

The awards recognised ­individuals and organisations that have excelled and/or are involved in the promotion of ­tourism from different sectors of the travel trade and service ­providers related directly or indirectly to the industry.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; Thursday April 17, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has committed $200Million to the Linkages Networks to help build out more products to enhance the visitor experience and ensure more inclusive growth in the sector.

Speaking at the launch of the new Top Events Jamaica Initiative yesterday at Devon House, Minister Bartlett said, “This year, we will be spending 200 Million dollars on the Networks to create the level of inclusiveness that connects the ordinary Jamaican to the tourism product and the product to the ordinary Jamaican.

This will be a huge game changer and we are going to change the narrative and also change the feeling of the public that tourism is only for the bigger suppliers and doesn’t include the smaller players.”

The Tourism Linkages Network’s (TLN’s) main focus has been to bring local tourism suppliers in contact with other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. In doing so, the Linkages Network creates more economic opportunities for our local tourism suppliers who can then earn more.

Driving this inclusive growth are five networks geared towards building out authentic Jamaican experiences for the visitors and increasing the earning potential of small suppliers and they are – Gastronomy, Sports and Entertainment, Shopping, Knowledge and Health and Wellness.

The new Top Events Jamaica initiative, being spearheaded by the TLN, is designed to increase visitor participation in events and activities islandwide through strategic partnerships and leveraging the power of technology, social media, and advertising.

In highlighting the importance of this new platform, Minister Bartlett, said, “Top Events will place all our best entertainment products and offerings under one roof. In doing so we are allowing visitors and locals alike to chance to find these offerings with the click of a button.  Top events will be a critical element that brings together our authentic Jamaican entertainment products under one roof through the use of technology.

This type of interface is critical in the age of technology especially given that entertainment forms a large part of why people travel and as such there is value in building out more products of this nature to drive arrivals and growth in the sector.”

The Top Events initiative will include a microsite and an easy to use mobile app to increase visitor awareness and participation in the over 900 events held in Jamaica each month.  To qualify for listing on Top Events, event organisers must meet the predetermined criteria outlined by the TLN that guarantees continuity in the content delivery and effective data capture.

The TLN’s Sports and Entertainment Network (SEN) will   be   the   driving   force behind Top Events Jamaica and the body ultimately responsible for the final selection of “Top Events”     to     be  added  to the event calendar.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 16, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has challenged the local art community to take art out of the educational institutions and art galleries and into Jamaica’s inner city communities as a vehicle of social and economic renewal.

“We need to consider new and innovative approaches to bring art out of Edna Manley into the wider community and bring art out of the Nation Gallery into Trench Town and into Barret Town and Granville and some of the harsher inner city areas,” Minister Bartlett said.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony for internationally acclaimed Jamaican artist Bryan McFarlane’s “New Beginnings” exhibition and the official launch of the Gene Pearson Gallery at The R Hotel, New Kingston, on the weekend.

Reiterating a commitment given earlier this month to disburse J$300 million to 63 communities across the country to boost Community Tourism, Minister Bartlett encouraged Jamaica’s artists to use some of the money to develop creative placements in these communities.

Expanding on the idea, he said, “The concept of creative placement might be something that we can borrow. The United States does it quite well by utilizing relic buildings, underused and abandoned playing fields and almost every facility that seems lacking in its asset value within communities to become creative placement centres. It gives a sense of pride and creates a feeling of cultural connection.”

Minister Bartlett said he would like to see the transforming effect that art and culture has on the lives of people demonstrated. “While we reflect on the beauty of this exhibition and the aesthetics that will fill our hearts as we move around, I want us to use this opportunity to think beyond the art.  Let us think development, let us think transformation, let us think innovation and see if there is another remedy for the social disruptions that we are having in our communities across Jamaica,” he concluded.

Paraphrasing French poet Gaston Bachelard, Professor Bryan McFarlane said there is immensity in minuteness and “Jamaica, the place where I have most been inspired throughout my life, is immense.”  

He encouraged patrons to look at his art and see the “immense kind of spaces and ideas and metaphors and images that are there and try to read them with your heart and institution.”

Professor McFarlane teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in the United States.  He has exhibited his work at numerous museums and lectured as a visiting artist at universities throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and has won numerous awards.

The 14 pieces exhibited, constituting watercolours and oil on linen, were from McFarlane’s collections and touched on themes when he lived in China, Turkey and Africa.

MONTEGO Bay, Jamaica; April 15, 2019:  Prime Minister Holness is inviting more investors to tap into development opportunities in Jamaica, particularly in the tourism industry as he believes the trajectory of the value of the industry is going to take off rapidly.

“The opportunities here are great. We’re now in that phase where we are seeking to re-imagine Jamaica’s tourism as a high-value, high-quality destination.  We have all the elements to achieve that and we are working towards it. Now is the time for investors to get in because the trajectory of the value of the industry is going to take off rapidly,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on Friday at the Ameterra Group's groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an 800-room resort in Stewart Castle, Trelawny. This will be followed by another 400 rooms in the second phase and over time will see an estimated 8,000 hotel rooms to be constructed on the 1,000-acre property.

It is being developed by former North Trelawny Member of Parliament Keith Russell, his wife, Paula; and international partners, Tourism & Leisure Development International owner, Francisco Fuentes, along with Rexton Capital Partners Limited’s owners Mustapha Deria and Guillermo Velasco.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw also shared that investment opportunities also exist within the agriculture industry.

“A few miles from here, the Government has 13,000 acres of land that used to be in sugar…Applications are flowing in for thousands of acres and those 13,000 acres by the end of this year must be in full production,” said Minister Shaw.

The Prime Minister lamented, however, that while the country is ripe for investments, the existing bureaucracy often makes it difficult for investments to happen seamlessly.

“The public bureaucracy does not always understand or is empathetic to the speed of business. They operate on two different timelines and they take into consideration, non-commercial things that sometimes add a burden, which is not just frustrating but has real costs to doing business,” said the Prime Minister.

He went on to share that, “It takes the overarching leadership of the country to ensure that the rules are created and are such that they encourage business at the speed of thought, and that is where Jamaica is heading. Everything that I have done so far as Prime Minister is to challenge the institutional thinking that has kept us from growing and I will continue to challenge it because it needs to be done.”

Creating a More Inclusive Tourism Industry

The Prime Minister also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to create a culture of inclusion in the industry so that more Jamaicans will feel they benefit from the rapidly growing and lucrative industry.

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett shared these sentiments, adding that his Ministry is focusing on creating an industry which “involves the integration of more communities. One of the visions is to establish a tourism integration development arrangement that will be embodied in something called a Tourism Innovation City.”

The Tourism Minister added that the objective of the innovation city is to enable the hotel/attraction to become ‘the fulcrum around which the economic and social development of the entire communities around it is predicated.

When he [Keith Russell] spoke about the Group’s integrated approach to bring agriculture, manufacturing, BPO, retail, attractions of various kinds within that frame – is in fact to establish fully what the thinking of this concept is about.”

It was noted that the first 1,200 rooms of the Amaterra project will yield 3,200 direct employees and another 2,000 indirect employees.

The completed Amaterra Group project will include resorts, entertainment facilities, theme parks, a pedestrian town centre, manufacturing facilities and special economic zones.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thursday, April 11, 2019:  Community Tourism island wide, will receive a major boost following the commitment of approximately J$300Million by Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.

The money will be disbursed to sixty three (63) communities across the country to have small events and activities to attract more visitors, and increase potential earnings of small tourism suppliers.

“The building out of more tourism products under our Linkages Network, forms part of our overall growth strategy to attract more visitors by adding value and enhancing their experiences. Adding value has become a benchmark in the highly competitive tourism industry and when you are able to give more you will have a better value proposition for visitors than your competitors.

These community tourism projects will provide authentic Jamaican experiences, whether it be food or entertainment, for our visitors and increase earnings for our suppliers,” said Minister Bartlett.

The announcement was made today during the official launch of M-Academy at the Chinese Benevolent Centre in Kingston. M-Academy is a Jamaica Social Investment Fund and Main Events partnership that will provide alternative Livelihood and Skills Development. The main objective of the initiative is to provide demand driven skills in event production to 100 students from 7 parishes across Jamaica. 

In endorsing the move, Minister Bartlett added that, “I am pleased that this initiative will help build the capacity of our young people who will in turn be able to earn and meet the demands in the entertainment sector, which is inextricably linked to tourism.

 This means that we will be able to rely more on local talent to seamlessly execute mega productions such as festivals and conventions, which attract thousands of people.”

The M-Academy training program will initially certify 100 at risk youth in various aspects of world class event management and production skills by one of the leading entertainment companies in the Caribbean.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 4, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says his recent meeting with key members of the Jamaican Diaspora in London was very successful.

Speaking at a community meeting, held at the Jamaican High Commission in London, United Kingdom, yesterday, Minister Bartlett spoke of the importance and impact of the UK and global diaspora on the economy of Jamaica. He also commented that nobody can promote and advocate for Jamaica better than Jamaicans living around the world.

With visitor figures for January – March 2019 already outperforming the previous period in 2018 by 13 per cent, Minister Bartlett updated the diaspora community on the island’s key tourism developments for the year ahead including 10,000 additional rooms by the end of 2020.

He also highlighted the new graduate school for hospitality management and tourism and the wider upskilling programmes and qualification opportunities for Jamaicans on the island, to continue to grow the direct economic benefits for the workers of the tourism industry first hand.

“Making up 10 per cent of all arrivals into Jamaica each year, and with one in five workers in the Caribbean employed by tourism, it’s important that we do not underestimate its penetration because if we do, we will lose sight of the fact that almost everyone in Jamaica has their being and sustenance connected to tourism.

Working closely with our diaspora communities around the world is vital to promoting our unique tourism message and we value them as advocates and ambassadors hugely,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett also talked in detail about the importance of the recently launched Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica. A first of its kind, the Centre offers a global tourism resource dedicated to research and analysis on destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions or crises around the world which is being pioneered at the University of the West Indies.

Minister Bartlett, who represented Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness at the Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Annual reception in London, returned to the island today.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 1, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett left the island yesterday to give the keynote address at the Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Annual reception in London. Minister Bartlett, who is representing Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, will also attend a key investment meeting.

The Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Reception is an annual event. Each year one of the Caribbean islands is spotlighted and this year is Jamaica’s year.

“I am pleased and honoured to be representing our Prime Minister for this a second time. This is a critical platform which will allow me to highlight the country’s achievements and investment opportunities to an influential group of policy makers and political and business leaders.

A main focus of the presentation will be to discuss the future of Caribbean tourism and underpinning that will be building resilience in the region. I am especially pleased that I will engage major stakeholders such as representatives from the diaspora,” said Minister Bartlett.

As part of the Caribbean Council’s Annual event, an investment meeting is also scheduled with investor companies willing to invest in Jamaica.  Minister Bartlett will meet with investors from London Regional, Deco Dart from Cayman, the Inicia Vicini Group and Mott MacDonold a key sponsor of the Caribbean Council’s event.

Minister Bartlett will also take the opportunity to meet with the production team for the upcoming James Bond Film that will feature Jamaica. The 25th film in the James Bond series will feature Jamaica with The Daily Mail confirming recently that principal filming will take place in Jamaica and at studios in the United Kingdom.

“My colleague Minister, Olivia Grange and I will have further discussions with producers of this internationally recognized film series which will have a major positive impact for brand Jamaica.

In fact, this will be the second time that Jamaica is featured in this popular film series as the island hosted filming in the first ever Bond film titled Dr No in 1962,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett is scheduled to return to the island on April 4, 2019.