MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; March 30, 2019: The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is investing a little under $J1 billion for the Resort Squatter Settlements Upgrade Project for the community of Grange Pen in St. James.

The Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) will oversee the infrastructural upgrade for the regularization of 535 households in the community. This is equivalent to approximately 8000 square feet per lot.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the project on March 29, Tourism Minister and Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said the project was started in 2010 as part of the then Government’s mission to provide housing solutions for workers in the tourism industry through the TEF.

“We are going to be building a level of development that you have never seen before in this parish…We have proposals for participants, RFPs [request for proposals]out for public-private participation for us to build those houses for the people – primarily workers of the tourism industry,” said the Minister.

The general scope of works, which will take place over a 24-month period, includes: road scribing and paving, draining infrastructure, construction of a sewage treatment plant, water supply connection to the National Water Commission, electricity distribution, and land titling.

A highway will also be created from Grange Pen through Barrett Hall to Greenwood, signaling the next phase of the development for the area. The Minister also shared that upon completion, the community of Grange Pen will be renamed.

In his first ever public address as Minister of Economic Growth and Job Creation, with responsibility for housing, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Junior added that, “it is perhaps everyone’s dream to own their own home…It is my responsibility now to be the one to ensure that I drive the processes of accountability to make sure that we are providing the housing that is necessary to all communities across this country.”

He also stated that it is the Government’s goal to provide for low to middle income earners by “giving them improved access to mortgages, so that they can be able to go through the financing that is required to access the housing that will be provided across communities.”

The Tourism Minister also announced that a major development is in the works for Lilliput which will have significant economic benefits for the people in Montego Bay.

“We have concluded much discussions, the purchase of the land has been completed in phase 1 and phase 2 is also being completed with the Rolling’s family. We will have close to 4000 additional rooms which will require a level of service from the people in this area.

The way forward for us is an integrated, involved and inclusive tourism where the hotel developments and the communities are going to be one in the same,” said Minister Bartlett.

Chairman of the HAJ Norman Brown and Councillor Anthony Murray from the St James Municipal Corporation welcomed the development project in Grange Pen as in important initiative which will drastically transform the community.

As part of efforts to improve the look and feel of the product, the Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has so far invested J$6 billion in Montego Bay and its environs. The work carried out by the TEF includes road rehabilitation, drain cleaning and housing solutions.

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; March 29, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has indicated plans to fully develop the community of Somerton in St. James, where cultural icon Jimmy Cliff was born, as a major tourism attraction. 

“The town of Somerton holds the rich cultural history of some of the most celebrated Jamaicans such as former Prime Minister PJ Patterson, former Governor General Sir Howard Cooke’s family, Lennie Little-White, renowned film maker, Ms. Violet Neilson former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Bishop Herro Blair.

Perhaps the most celebrated of all is Grammy award winning singer Jimmy Cliff who still lives in Somerton and even filmed some of his greatest work here. We are excited about this history that has helped to fashion the community and can be positioned and leveraged as a major tourism attraction and generate economic growth,” said Minister Bartlett. 

Minister Bartlett made the announcement at the official ground breaking for the Somerton to Fording road rehabilitation project yesterday [March 28, 2019]. The project will see restoration work on the roadway from fording to the Somerton square which will be named the Jimmy Cliff highway. The general scope of work will include road signage, construction of drains and asphaltic concrete repairs and overlay.

“The community needs to now be repositioned, it needs to be reimagined and today represents the start of that reimagining. We are going to doing as series of infrastructure work aimed at preserving the rich cultural history.

We are going to develop a Jimmy Cliff museum and restore the waterfall where Jimmy Cliff frequented. So the aim is to create Somerton as an important tourist attraction around Jimmy Cliff and that will bring pilgrims and fans from all over the world who have been inspired by his accomplishments.”

The community of Somerton in St. James is located eleven miles from Montego Bay, and is known for having birthed and raised a long list of distinguished Jamaicans. The most noted is Dr. the Hon James Chambers, known professionally as Jimmy Cliff. He is a ska and reggae musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. Cliff is one of only two living musicians to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.

“I am a son of the soil and I will always be. My house remains in Somerton because this is where I want to be so I welcome these developments and thank everyone who will be a part of it,” said the world renowned singer and actor, Dr. the Hon James ‘Jimmy Cliff’ Chambers.

The Island Nation is Ranked #14 in the World and #1 in the Caribbean

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 27, 2019:  Jamaica has been listed in the Top 25 Best Destinations in the World for 2019 on renowned travel website TripAdvisor. The island is the only country in the Caribbean to do so, and ranks among destinations such as London, Rome and Paris.

Jamaica was ranked #14 on the TripAdvisor® Travelers’ Choice™ Awards’ “World’s Best Destinations” list and is also listed as the best destination in the Caribbean.

Negril’s Seven Mile Beach was also named the 10^th Best Beach in the world and fifth Best Beach in the Caribbean on the 2019 TripAdvisor® Travelers’ Choice™ Awards’ for Beaches. TripAdvisor recognized 352 beaches around the world.

Award winners for the Best Destinations awards were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions in destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period, as well as traveler booking interest on TripAdvisor.

While winners for the Beaches awards were determined based on the quantity and quality of traveler reviews and ratings for beaches on TripAdvisor, gathered over a 12-month period.

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says, “Jamaica is very pleased to once again receive these incredible accolades from the acclaimed travel website TripAdvisor. We have been increasing our efforts to better meet the needs of our visitors, by focusing on securing meaningful investments and improving on the variety of quality offerings in the destination. We want to thank all of our visitors for choosing Jamaica and we are always ready to welcome them to our shores.”

TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site, with over 730 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide. It covers approximately 8.1 million accommodations, airlines, experiences, and restaurants. 

For all of the 2019 Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Destinations, go to https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Destinations

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; March 22, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has welcomed the establishment of a Graduate School of Tourism by 2020, which will be based at the University of the West Indies’ Western Campus.

“This project has been a vision of mine for many years and to see this vision now become a reality under the leadership of Professor Dale Webber, Principal of the University of the West Indies augurs well for tourism and our human capital development strategy.

The graduate school of tourism will be an ideal complement for the training and certification that is already being done through our Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation which is the institute we established for professionalizing the industry so workers can have their competencies recognized through certification” said Minister Bartlett.

The Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation’s (JCTI’s) focus is on certifying workers in the sector to the highest level, which means that they will be able to go anywhere in the world and match their qualifications with the best there is.

To date, JCTI has certified in excess of 600 persons. They include Certified Hospitality Educators to deliver the AHLEI programmes; Certified Hospitality Supervisors; tutors for the ACF certification programmes; over 22 chefs, including Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, Culinarians and Pastry Culinarians.

The announcement was made at the University of the West Indies’ Western Campus official ground breaking. The University of the West Indies (UWI) offers world class, accredited higher education programmes to Jamaica, the region and the globe.

The new site, which will be located at Barnett Oval in Montego Bay, aligns with the University’s commitment to increase participation in tertiary and higher education whilst strengthening their partnership opportunities with stakeholders in Western Jamaica. 

Principal of the UWI, Professor Dale Webber, in welcoming the new graduate school of tourism said, “What separates the U.W.I from other Universities is our graduate studies and research so we see the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which is currently housed at our Mona campus, as part of the School of Tourism portfolio.

Now we have a new vehicle at this Western Jamaica campus Barnett site to establish the school and offer tourism at a higher level with Masters and Phd programmes.

“This is a monumental step towards a total reimaging of tourism, where we will be able to have workers trained and certified at the highest levels. With this higher level of training and certification, they will be able to not only meet the demands of an ever changing global industry but will be able to demand more in terms of jobs and compensation,” added Minister Bartlett.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 21, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett yesterday revealed that his Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event has resulted in local Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) negotiating contracts valued at over $630 million, over the past three years.

Speaking at this year’s staging of the Speed Networking event in Montego Bay, the Minister said, “I am pleased to share that Speed Networking 2016 resulted in contracts valued at some $181 million; while the 2017 event saw suppliers benefitting from over $200 million in contracts; and in 2018, the value of these contracts grew to over $250 million.  That is over $630 million in contacts for local SMTEs from just three one-day linkages events.”

He also noted that among the top beneficiaries of the event, were Boss Furniture and Tortuga Rum Cakes.

Boss Furniture won a contract valued at $30 million to provide bedding and furnishings to Montego Bay’s new S Hotel while another $10 million in contracts with that property is in the pipeline.

In addition, Boss Furniture CEO Omar Azan is also in negotiation with the Sandals and Hendrickson Groups to supply their properties with locally made bedding and furniture. Tortuga Rum Cakes also negotiated a $500,000 contract with Half Moon Hotel, from their participation in the event.

“This event is a tremendous help to local manufacturers, farmers and service providers. In creating these linkages, it helps us to grow our business, provide jobs for our people, provide revenue for the government, and in the end grow our economies. Two years ago I attended the event and got a big order from a hotelier and it can be like that for any supplier,” said Mr Azan.

The Minister noted that the event is a key initiative designed to offer support to SMTEs and helps to strengthen the linkages between tourism and other sectors of the economy, and in so doing, increases the economic impact of the sector.

“The strategy must be to increase the capacity to supply the demands that tourism consumption patterns require and find creative ways of building entrepreneurship among our local stakeholders to fill these requirements. In this way, we will retain more of the revenue generated by tourism in the local economy and stop leakages,” he said.

The Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event took place on March 20 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. It is a core initiative of the Tourism Linkages Network in close collaboration with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Jamaica Manufacturers’ Exporters’ Association (JMEA), Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC).

The event format features fifteen minute pre-scheduled meeting appointments between Managing Directors, General Managers or CEOs of local supplier companies of products and services with Owners or Managers of properties, restaurants, attractions and other tourism entities throughout the course of one day.

Additional representatives from core areas within the hotel’s operation such as Purchasing, Food and Beverage and Maintenance who are in a position to make purchasing decisions also attend.

For this year’s staging organisers targeted suppliers from areas such as: Digital marketing, Content capture services, Maintenance providers and Entertainment. Other suppliers included areas such as furniture, fresh produce, craft, chemicals and cleaning products, cosmetics and spa products, training, electrical services and construction.

“Last year we had 56 supplier companies and 33 tourism entities in attendance.  This year we have 110 supplier companies and 57 tourism entities, proof that this event is gaining traction because participants are seeing results,” said the Minister.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 18, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica’s tourism industry has benefitted tremendously from the recent staging of mega culinary and entertainment festivals.

In the month of March, Jamaica hosted its second annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, the inaugural Jamaica Rum Festival as well as the much-anticipated Buju Banton Long Walk to Freedom concert. Each event saw thousands of patrons, with many visiting from overseas.

“I am very happy to announce that tourism arrivals have been impacted positively in March, from these mega-festivals. They provided an opportunity for us to broaden the market by bringing more people to the destination to meet a variety of passion points which embody the very best of our food, culture and music,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also noted that preliminary figures indicate that arrivals for Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport, last Friday, ahead of Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom concert, show that 2,434 foreign nationals visited. This represents a 143% increase over the same period last year.

The data from the Jamaica Tourist Board also shows that 7,389 foreign nationals arrived into Montego Bay on Friday, which is a 58% increase over the same day last year. 

“The arrivals over the weekend have been very strong and as an industry we are ecstatic. Our focus on our core tourist arrivals remains on strong footing from our key source markets. Since the start of the year, as at yesterday we have receive 72,999 more visitors than last year overt the same period,” said the Minister.

Kingston, Jamaica; Friday March 15, 2019… Tourism Minister Hon Edmund Bartlett has lauded the contribution of the finalists who will vie for the coveted award of national champions in the Tourism Service Excellence Awards (TSEA) on March 30.

The TSEA, which is in its sixth staging was created by the Ministry of Tourism, and is implemented annually by the Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo). The awards seek to recognize and reward tourism entities and individuals that have consistently provided exemplary service within the tourism industry.

 “Sixty percent of the value of the visitor experience is service and it is because of your service to the sector we were able to last year, break another record in terms of arrivals and earnings by welcoming about 4.32Million visitors and securing approximately US3.3Billion.

So Service for us is not a reference but service is what we do and in tourism, he who does it the best gets the most,” said Minister Bartlett.

Nineteen finalists are set to contend for the award of national champions in the TSEA come March 30^th. The finalists, ten of which represent organizations and nine, the individual category, were selected from the 6 resort areas of Jamaica.  107 nominations were received this year from the major sub-sectors of the tourism industry, from which 50 semi-finalists were shortlisted and further narrowed to decide the final 19 contenders for the major awards and prizes.

Minister Bartlett added that, “Our phenomenal arrivals and earnings last year helped us to employ 120,000 people directly and another 250,000 indirectly. This enabled us to contribute close to J$450 Billion to the GDP, in fact 22% of the earnings or the revenue that went into GDP came from tourism.

We could not have done it without the exceptional service of our tourism workers and these 19 finalists represent workers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure our visitors experience service beyond expectation.”

Minister Bartlett also underscored the importance of rewarding tourism entities and individuals for their contribution to the tourism sector and the impact they continue to have on visitors to the island, which has resulted in an impressive 42% in repeat business; this represents the highest percentage in the region.

He recognized as well the importance of the service excellence awards programme which acknowledges, celebrates and showcases service.

The finalists for the 2018 TSEA are Beaches Negril, The Tryall Golf & Country Club, Ultimate Freedom Bed & Breakfast, The Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience, Half Moon Hotel, Deja Resort, Miss T’s Kitchen, Jamaica Inn, VIP Attractions and El Sol Vida from the organization category and from the individual category, Shenade Quarrie of Sandals Negril, Yanike Brown of Beaches Negril, Coleen Powell- Gordon of Jakes Treasure Beach, Kingsley George Blake of Round Hill Hotel, Conroy Thompson of Half Moon Hotel, Paul Norman of Dolphin Cove Jamaica, Nardia Angus of Golden Eye, Duane Phillips of Knutsford Court Hotel and Caroline Bonner of VIP Attractions.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Tuesday, March 12, 2019:  With visitor arrivals for the first nine weeks of this year exceeding one million and Jamaica being the first Caribbean destination to achieve this result, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett says the tourism industry has reached the peak of its growth. Earnings for the nine weeks have been put at US $800 Million.

The latest arrival figures were disclosed by Minister Bartlett as he delivered the keynote address at the official opening of Montego Bay’s newest attraction, the Grand-A-View Restaurant and Event Place on the weekend.

He said the figures signalled “that the earnings from tourism can now penetrate the economy of Jamaica and is influencing all the consumption patterns within the economy.” Also, said Minister Bartlett, “the industry now is at the peak of its growth” but will face new targets “because we’re in a continuous state of growth.”

Lauding the proprietors of Grand-A-View, Carl and Dr Barbara Erskine for their investment, Minister Bartlett was pleased that they had done so in gastronomy, stating that Jamaica must leverage for great effect, its ability to combine something produced or manufactured here with the range of international cuisine it offers to the world.

“Food tourism is going to be the major driver for growth and the experiential tourism product in Jamaica, but it is also going to be the basis on which a larger number of ordinary Jamaicans are going to be involved in the value chain of tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

In consideration of that forecast, he disclosed, “We’re spending, from the Tourism Linkages Network, over USD300, 000 in this new fiscal year and building out these kinds of attractions and activities for the ordinary Jamaican. We’re starting out by reimagining the Lilliput area where now we have close to 3,000 rooms and by the end of this year we would have broken ground for at least 2,000 rooms in the Rose Hall area.”

The Tourism Minister said that is going to mean a demand for Jamaican goods and services such as barbers and hair braiders and “we met with some backyard farmers in Lilliput recently because we’re going to help to plant vegetables like tomatoes, the fruits that are natural to the area like soursop and sweetsop, and make sure that those fruits are sold to the hotels across the road from where they live.” Minister Bartlett said this initiative would be replicated in Negril and St Ann “because this is a big area.”

He also said coffee was now being treated as an international product in tourism “that every visitor that comes to Jamaica as of this year on a cruise ship will get a cup of Jamaican coffee at the terminal when they arrive.”

According to Minister Bartlett discussions were also taking place with Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke on how to improve the fiscal arrangements that will allow “the kind of tax arrangements that will incentivise production and make more people want to invest in various areas of Jamaica.”

He singled out investment in food and restaurants, noting, “We’re looking at how to make it easier for them to bring higher cut pieces of meat and other items that are required to make us provide the higher level of culinary expressions that are deemed good for the growth of tourism in Jamaica.”

In consideration of what the Grand-A-View offers, Minister Bartlett said it was a solid investment to the growth and development of the city and portends that Montego Bay was returning to being the happening place for business and the entertainment centre for tourism in Jamaica.

The Grand-A-View is the only facility of its kind in Montego Bay, featuring an Observation Tower on the third floor that offers a 180-degree captivating view of the northern coast of the city. It also boasts an executive lounge, a conference room and an exquisitely laid out dining room.

Also welcoming the Grand-A-View as a fine addition to the Montego Bay landscape were Mayor Homer Davis and St James Custos, Bishop Conrad Pitkin; former minister of government, Dr Karl Blythe; Tourism Enhancement Fund Chairman, Hon Godfrey Dyer and Rev Frank Kellier, all of whom joined Dr Barbara Erskine in cutting the ribbon signifying the opening.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 08, 2019: Board Members and associates of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) had their second meeting, in Berlin, Germany today to discuss their major projects, which will be completed this year.

Speaking at the board meeting, Tourism Minister and Chairman of the Centre, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said, “I am very happy to announce that we are ahead of schedule for many of the plans that we have for the establishment and operations of this very important global institution. Our partners have been very active in securing important potential investors, as well as in the development of our key initiatives.

The major 2019 projects include the appointment of the Professorial Chair in Resilience and Innovation at University of the West Indies (UWI); the development of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Tool-Kit; and the development of the Global Tourism Resilience Measurement Framework for Global Tourism Resilience Readiness.  They also intend to develop an appropriate Global Indices for Tourism Resilience Readiness, as well as the official GTRCMC Academic Journal.

The Centre, with the assistance from East Park Drive and partners, has also engaged several potential investors to fund other projects. Some of these include the Tourism Seismic Readiness Study of International Airports across the Caribbean; Tourism Climate Resilience Awareness Campaign for Small and Medium Size in Small Island Developing States (SIDS); and the Tourism Health and Wellness Audit among SIDS.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) was launched on January 30, 2019 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre and is housed at the UWI.

The focus of the Centre includes: Risk Assessment, Mapping and Planning; Cyberspace Policy and Counter-Terrorism; Resilience-Related Research Collaborations; Development of Innovation Systems; Coordinating resilience policies with the government, Resource Mobilization, Capacity Building and Cross-Border Intelligence-sharing.

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.

The first Board meeting was held on November 4, 2018 at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel in London, UK. The Board discussed among other things: the thematic focus of the Centre; the location of the Centre and, possible satellites in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East as well as Oceania.

Minister Bartlett was accompanied by Dr. Lloyd Waller, Senior Advisor/Consultant and Gis’elle Jones, Research and Risk Management in the Tourism Enhancement Fund, who acted as secretary for the Board of Governors Meeting on the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

The team is expected to return to the island on March 09, 2019.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 07, 2019:  Jamaica was today presented with the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) International Travel Award for Destination of the Year, in Berlin, Germany.

Speaking at the ceremony, Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett said, “Jamaica is truly honoured to once again receive a prestigious award from the internationally recognized PATWA organization.

Our country has been continuously creating innovative initiatives aimed at improving the destination, as well as bolstering our marketing efforts in new and emerging markets. I am very happy that we have been recognized for our hard work, during this event, among other leading destinations.”

The Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), a professional organisation of travel writers, which was founded in 1998, organizes the event. The awards recognize 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.

The Minister also noted that locally, the industry continues to break records for arrivals and revenue earned, making it a critical industry in the country’s growth agenda.

“Destination Jamaica has been performing exceptionally well. I am very proud to say that each year we continue to see an increase in the number of visitors to our shores – most of which have been to our island at least once before. This I am sure can be credited to our beautiful attractions and of course friendly people, who have also been able to earn from the industry,” he said.

The total visitor arrivals for 2016 stood at 3,837,243 with 2,181,684 being stopovers. In 2017, total arrivals broke the 4 million mark to end the year at 4,276,189. The record-breaking streak continued into 2018 when the country welcomed 4,318,600 visitors.

The statistics show that last year stopover arrivals exceeded the previous year by 5.1 percent but when compared to 2016, growth was a whopping 13.3 percent. The USA market in particular, grew by 7.5 percent in 2018 over 2017.

Preliminary figures for airport arrivals for the period of January 1 to February 17 2019 show Montego Bay recording 275,902 and Kingston 44,400 for a total of 320,602.  That is 31,172 or 10.2 percent increase in arrivals over the 2018 corresponding period.

The country also welcomed 469,000 cruise passengers, last month, which is 43,000 more tourists compared to the corresponding time last year

Projected figures for the 2018/19 fiscal year show gross earnings at US$3.334 billion, an 8.8 percent increase over the last fiscal year. Stopover arrivals are also projected at 2.713 million, which is a 6.2 percent increase.

The ceremony forms part of ITB Berlin, which is the largest tourism tradeshow in the world – the foremost business platform for global touristic offers and a prime marketplace and driving force behind the international tourism industry. It highlights hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, airlines among others related to the travel industry. ITB is also the ideal forum for establishing new customer contacts and conducting business.

The Minister is joined by Director of Tourism, Donovan White and the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Events Manager, Lorna Robinson. He will return to the island on March 9, 2019.