KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 07, 2019:  Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett was today awarded the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) Tourism Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism in Berlin Germany.

“The award for Tourism Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism is a very special accolade that I accept humbly on behalf of the people of Jamaica. Jamaica has been working very hard to ensure that tourism not only benefits the country but also remains sustainable,” said the Minister.

He also noted that Jamaica has hosted two major international conferences, over the past two years, which focused on sharing best practices and solutions to make the industry more resilient and sustainable.

“The truth is the Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world, with tourism being the largest generator of foreign exchange and jobs in 16 out of 28 countries in the region, and the sector receiving the most foreign direct investment. A major disruption to tourism will likely devastate the economic livelihoods of millions and stymie the sustainable development of the region, said Minister Bartlett.

It is for this reason, the Minister noted, that Jamaica has led the development of the first Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

‘Given the globally recognised importance of tourism management, the centre positions Jamaica as a global thought leader in tourism resilience and crisis management, and is thus a critical development enabler for countries around the world,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Centre which is housed at the University of the West Indies, 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.

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

The event is organized by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), a professional organisation of travel writers that was founded in 1998.

The awards recognise 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.

ITB Berlin 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.  The event 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.

ITB this year will feature a Jamaica Night event on March 7, which will highlight the county’s attractions, food and culture.

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.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 05, 2019: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett departs the island today to participate in the International Tourism Bourse (ITB), in Berlin, Germany, where he has been invited to be a guest speaker at the ‘International Seminar on Global Tourism’s Trends and Challenges.’

The event is organized by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), a professional organisation of travel writers which was founded in 1998. The International Seminar on Global Trends and Challenges is an annual signature event.

The seminar will feature key stakeholders and global leaders in tourism such as the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili; Mr. Geoffrey Lipman, President of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners; and Mr. Alain St. Ange, Deputy Secretary-General of  the Forum of Small Medium Economic AFRICA ASEAN, among others.

“It is an honour for Jamaica to once again participate in this very important tradeshow.  I am looking forward to engaging tourism stakeholders and investors to share best practices, and forge solutions to create a more resilient industry,” said the Minister.

ITB Berlin 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. 

The event 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.

ITB this year will feature a Jamaica Night event on March 7 which will highlight the county’s attractions, food and culture.

“Jamaica Night is a great marketing opportunity for us in Germany. Last year we welcomed over 34,000 stop-over visitors from that country, which is a 14.7% increase over the same period in 2017,” said the Minister.

He also noted that during the last ITB, Berlin event, Eurowings officials announced their once weekly scheduled nonstop flights between the German city of Munich and Montego Bay, which began last summer.

“The new Eurowings route has been a welcomed addition to our industry, as Munich is one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Europe with a population of a population of 13 million. We have already seen an increase since and hope to further strengthen our marketing efforts to see an even greater increase,” he said.

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

KINGSTON, Jamaica; March 4, 2019:  All cruise passengers disembarking at Jamaica’s main ports will soon be treated to a cup of Jamaica’s world famous Blue Mountain Coffee.  The Ministry of Tourism is currently in discussions with two local coffee companies to roll out this new gastronomy initiative across the island.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett announced the new initiative to the hundreds of coffee aficionados and industry stakeholders who flocked to Newcastle, St. Andrew, for the Festival Marketplace of the second annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival on Saturday, March 2.

The Marketplace was the highlight of the three-day coffee festival and featured 45 exhibitors, food demonstrations, live entertainment and a Barista competition.

Noting the island’s record visitor arrivals, Minister Bartlett said, “This successful performance is not happening because we stood idly by and said Jamaica is nice so people will come. It is because we have created new experiences like the coffee festival that will attract more and more people to our destination.”

Jamaica welcomed 900,000 visitors in the first eight weeks of 2019  and projections by the Jamaica Tourist Board indicate that by the end of the first week of March the island will see over one million visitors.

Minister Bartlett lauded the creativity and innovation of the exhibitors, which included a variety of products from coffee-infused beauty products to coffee foods and drinks. “Our growth in Jamaica is predicated on creativity and innovation.  It will not come from producing new things but from adding value to existing things,” noted the Tourism Minister.

“We need to realign our thoughts to see the vast potential of coffee beyond the rich aromatic brewed beverage that we drink. The Tourism Linkages’ Gastronomy Network is opening up channels that will allow for investments and development of a whole line of products that can come from coffee ranging from coffee cake and coffee flour to air fresheners and fertilizers,” said Minister Bartlett as he called for less reliance on foreign markets.

The coffee festival, hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network of the Ministry of Tourism, showcased the rich tradition of coffee production in the Blue Mountain region.  It began with business development workshops for farmers on March 1, held in collaboration with the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

The final day of the festival (March 3) was the Jamaica Blue Mountain Culinary Trail, which featured eateries with specialty menus as well as attractions, coffee estates and manufacturing facilities in the Blue Mountain region.

Saturday’s Professional Barista Competition was won by Sadiki Gordon of Toyota Coffee House.  He was trained by Deaf Can! Coffee, a social enterprise that trains deaf workers in the art of coffee and baking, and has been a professional barista for four years.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; Monday March 4, 2019:   Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett is urging banks to invest more in the sector’s value chain by establishing portfolios geared towards Tourism. This Minister Bartlett highlighted, will provide more access to funding to build capacity among smaller players in the sector and stimulate more economic growth.

“Last year, 1.4Billion people travelled the globe and spent US1.6Trillion. In that same year, the value of tourism to global GDP was eleven percent (11%). In the Caribbean, 1 in 5 jobs are tourism based and foreign exchange generated by tourism in the region represents more than 50% of the total foreign exchange generated which includes minerals and extractive industries.

Despite this growth we recognize that tourism was never organized or structured as an industry and a driver of the economy. It just mushroomed and has grown exponentially while make-shift arrangements were made to facilitate it,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett was speaking at a breakfast meeting organized by Executives of First Global Bank with several key tourism stakeholders from Montego Bay on Friday March 1, 2019.

“As tourism continues its growth, things are changing and we must respond appropriately to meet the needs of this mega industry starting with a labour market architecture. That is why I have initiated the Human Capital Development Strategy to train and certify all the workers through the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation to build a professional cadre of hospitality practitioners who can now be classified and salaried in relation to qualifications and competences,” Minister Bartlett highlighted.

Minister Bartlett also spoke about the need for a more structured approach to investing in tourism, “Tourism has now morphed into public funding where Wall Street is now a big player which means the ownership structure of the industry is changing globally and the requirements are changing.

In fact, the impact of Wall Street is changing the production and consumption patterns in the industry as we are now moving towards the commodification of tourism where price and value will play a more important role in a destination’s competitiveness. Because tourism remains a people centred activity, service will be the point of differentiation and so training remains a critical area in restructuring the industry to boost our competitive edge.”

In outlining investment opportunities in the sector, Minister Bartlett also added that, “When we look at what drives investment in tourism, we see that a key potential area to invest in is the reasons people travel. People travel to fulfil their passions such as food, shopping and entertainment and we must build out experiences around these passion points.

A major area is food as data shows that eighty-eight percent (88%) of the world travels for food. So we must invest in food experiences of all types and then then you must also invest in the basis of getting the food, that means investing in agriculture and agro processing applications.”

Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica shows that tourism’s contribution to the country’s economic growth is continuing its upward trajectory. In 2017, Tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP was 9%, up from 8.4% in 2016. This represents a 7% growth which is a little over six times the annualized GDP growth. This means tourism is actually growing six times the rate of the growth of GDP.

Last year over 4.31 million visitors arrived in Jamaica; 2.4 million via airports and a further 1.8 million by cruise. These visitors generated approximately USD3.3Billion in earnings, an 8.6% increase over 2017.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 13, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says major hotel brands in Israel have expressed interest in investing in Jamaica and are expected to visit the island soon.

“I am very happy to share that our meetings in the Mediterranean have been very fruitful. We have met with a number of hoteliers including the luxury brand Brown Hotels. Their properties are a very trendy group, similar to the Hard Rock brand, and I am sure it will be a great addition to our Kingston or Montego Bay offerings,’ said the Minister.

Brown Hotels is a rapidly-expanding global boutique hotel brand with roots in Tel Aviv. Conceived by native Israelis, Leon Avigad & Nitzan Perry with partner Nir Waizman. Their properties include four hotels in Tel Aviv, two in Jerusalem and one in Croatia.

The Minister also noted that the investors have accepted his invitation to visit Jamaica, and should be in attendance at the upcoming Jamaica Rum Festival.

The Festival, which will take place at place at Hope Gardens on March 9 and 10, is being presented by J. Wray & Nephew Limited’s Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum brand in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). It aims to promote brand Jamaica, boost tourism in Kingston and showcase Jamaica’s cultural excellence in rum, food and music.

“I am looking forward to continuing our discussions when the team arrives in Kingston next month. I am also excited that they will get an opportunity to attend this major food festival we will be hosting in Kingston. This is a potentially big find and they are ready for the Caribbean particularly Jamaica because of our music and rum which are so appealing to young people,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister is currently in Israel to participate in the Annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market.

The International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2019) is an annual tourism event that brings together professionals and service providers from the tourism industry and introduces new attractions and tourist destinations. 

The Minister is expected to return to the island on February 18.

Resilience is everybody’s business. All policymakers in the Caribbean must be concerned about the resilience of their national sectors amid a wide range of constantly evolving threats facing the region.  The concern is however especially urgent for policymakers in the tourism sector which is simultaneously one of the most resilient yet volatile segments of the economies of small island states.

The risks facing tourism are indeed dynamic. They are traditional as well as non-traditional.   They range from natural disasters to made-made disasters such as climate change to epidemics and pandemics to terrorism to the emerging threat of cybercrimes.

Despite the presence of these threats, The IDB Action Plan for Latin America and Caribbean has noted that with a few notable exceptions, the region has not pursued policies that reflect an understanding of its vulnerabilities and that identify actions to redress them. It noted a lack of comprehensive capacity building for disaster and emergency preparedness and response.

As we move forward indifference to the potentially existential threats facing the region’s tourism sector can no longer be the order of the day.  Mitigation and resilience will require Caribbean destinations to engage in proactive planning against anticipated disaster risks rather than repeatedly being caught reacting to events as they occur. This would demand greater levels of coordination, collaboration and integration between tourism agencies and local disaster management agencies to address disaster vulnerability and risk.  The region’s tourism policy makers must take seriously the recommendations of the World Travel and Tourism Council that the important matters of climate change, disaster degradation and resilience be prioritized over the next several years.

Resilience strategies to protect the future of tourism in the Caribbean are especially urgent given the unquantifiable importance of a healthy and secure tourism industry to the economic sustenance of the region.  As I have stated many times before the Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world with tourism being the largest generator of foreign exchange and jobs in 16 out of 28 countries in the region and the sector receiving the most FDI. A major disruption to tourism will likely devastate the economic livelihoods of millions and stymy the sustainable development of the region. 

Coming out of the 2017 UNWTO Global Tourism Conference held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, to mark the commemoration of 2017 as the year of sustainable tourism, The Montego Bay Declaration was adopted affirming  the commitment of governments, the UN system, global and regional financial institutions and the private sector  to cooperating to promote safe, secure and seamless travel and build resilience for tourism by advancing crisis preparedness and management capabilities as well as the full integration of tourism in emergency structures.

The 2017 Global Tourism Conference closed with a call for Government, private sector, donors and the international and regional organizations to support the establishment of a Global Tourism Resilience Centre in the Caribbean, including a Sustainable Tourism Observatory, to assist destinations’ preparedness, management and recovery of crises which impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods. On February 30, 2019, a little over a year later, this call was answered with the launch of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre to be housed at The University of the West Indies (Mona Campus).

The Centre is tasked with the responsibility of producing and generating toolkits, communication strategies, guidelines and capacity building programmes to enhance assist destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods in the region.  The establishment of this Centre will constitute an important enabling mechanism for achieving our institutional goals of increasing the quality of the output of the global tourism product by providing outstanding support through research, action, and advocacy.

The Centre will be engaged in a wide range of activities geared towards promoting mitigation and resilience including the development of indicators to measure resilience; risk assessment mapping and planning; promoting innovation systems for climate adaptation and resilience; cross-border intelligence sharing; widespread training and education to build capacity and promote behaviour modification;, developing a regional funding model to coordinate regional responses; fostering deepened  knowledge of cyberspace policy; promoting counter-terrorism studies;  developing urban resilience and building meaningful partnerships.

The Centre will act as both a practical solution facing destinations globally and an intellectual space for academics and practitioners to share information on contemporary issues in and strategies for global resilience management with the establishment of an International Journal of Tourism Resilience Management and an academic Chair in Resilience Management at UWI to develop and enhance scholarship in the area of Resilience Management for universities around the world. The Centre 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 (2) internships for undergraduate and graduate students in fields of study related to tourism resilience and crisis management.

Given the globally recognized importance of tourism management, the centre will certainly position Jamaica as a global thought leadership in tourism resilience and crisis management and is thus a critical development enabler for countries around the world.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 07, 2019:  Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says the Jamaica Rum Festival will broaden the country’s market by adding value to the Gastronomy Tourism product offerings.

Speaking at the Launch, which took place on February 05 at the Office of the Prime Minister, Minister Bartlett stated that “The logic behind celebrating our indigenous foods is very clear and the implications on tourism arrivals and growth is equally big…This rum festival is a great opportunity for us to broaden the market by bringing more people to the destination to indulge and then after they leave Jamaica, they will return. We already have a 42% repeat business, but that can multiply if we have events that are products that become annual events for tourism.”

The Festival, which will take place at place at Hope Gardens on March 9 and 10, is being presented by J. Wray & Nephew Limited’s Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum brand in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).  It aims to promote brand Jamaica, boost tourism in Kingston and showcase Jamaica’s cultural excellence in rum, food and music.  

According to the organizers, patrons will be exposed to the rum-making process, learn about the unique provenance of Jamaican rums and sample a variety of blends. They will also learn about ideal rum & food pairings, while enjoying entertainment from some of Jamaica’s finest musicians. 

TEF’s Executive Director, Dr. Carey Wallace, shared that approximately $10 million has been invested in the Jamaica Rum Festival to assist with marketing and the build out of Artisan Villages, which will be a key feature of the event. The artisan villages will allow patrons to purchase authentic and personalised Jamaican craft items.

Patrons will also be encouraged to explore the Jamaican competitive spirits through their participation in rum-based culinary and mixology competitions, domino contests and other games. 

“Gastronomy is an important part of tourism and our exceptional culinary delights such as our coffee and rum are among the top-three reasons why persons visit Jamaica. Every day, many tourists are driven to travel to Jamaica to taste our rich cultural dishes. This is the primary reason we have invested in building out this very important passion point of our visitors," said the Minister.

The Jamaica Rum Festival will take place a week after the Blue Mountain Coffee Festival – a major food festival being organized by the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism enhancement Fund. It will feature Blue Mountain coffee and coffee related products, food stalls, entertainment, cultural presentations, tastings and demonstrations, and workshops.

“This rum festival is a product that will join the coffee festival and the cocoa festival which is coming and we are going to be looking at other commodities of which Jamaica has some level of comparative in terms of the quality of our product and to use those to leverage the experiential tourism that we are marketing,” said Minister Bartlett.

FALMOUTH, Trelawny; February 7, 2019: Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness has welcomed the new USD 250Million (J$34 Billion) investment from Spanish Hotel chain, H10, which officially broke ground today in Coral Spring, Trelawny.

Construction is already underway by the H10 Hotel chain to construct 1000 new rooms. The hotel, which is expected to complete 500 rooms by the end of the year, will be called Ocean Coral Spring.

In welcoming the new development, Prime Minister Holness also reiterated that new tourism investments in the country must include Jamaicans to ensure inclusive growth in the sector, “Growth is all about value creation. Yes we could be receiving new investments and bringing in new capital but we must ensure that the value that is being created in the local economy. This means supplying the sector with local products.”

Prime Minister Holness added that, “So what contributes towards growth is when the farmer can get their products into the hotels to be sold. What we want is for every single Jamaican to feel that they are included in the growth and development of this industry.”

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, added that “This beginning of H10 in Jamaica promises to be an exciting and financially enabling relationship because it is going to enable a large number of workers to generate income and this defines what tourism is all about. It is about inclusive growth, by creating jobs, enabling consumption and enabling revenue.

Additionally I am happy that the advent of H10 will bring with it a number of other investment properties over the next few months.”

Director of International Division for H10 Hotels, Mr. Antonio Hernandez says the construction of Ocean Coral Spring is a “significant opportunity to start a long term success story in this beautiful and exciting country.”

Chargee d’Affaires from the Spanish Embassy, Ms. Victoria Garcia Ojeda said Spain remains the second largest investor in Jamaica with tourism as the main beneficiary. She added that ‘We intend to continue this partnership that will result in more economic growth and job creation.”

Ocean Coral Spring will consist of two five star all-inclusive hotels and several entertainment and gastronomic facilities. The property will be the only one of its kind in the English speaking Caribbean and form part of the H10 group that has over 55 hotels in 19 destinations worldwide. 

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; February 2, 2019: Jamaica is once again in the spotlight as top Caribbean Cruise Destination of the year for 2018. Jamaica received the award from Caribbean Journal, the world’s largest website covering Caribbean travel and trade news.

The award recognizes destinations that record consistent growth in cruise arrivals. Last year, Jamaica continued to attract new cruise ships such as Carnival Horizon and popular cruise brand, TUI also increased their call to Montego Bay.

This follows Jamaica’s recent record wins at the World Travel Awards in Portugal and Travvy Awards held last month in New York, where the island was awarded Best Wedding destination, Best Honeymoon destination and Best Culinary destination among others.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, who accepted the award said, “Jamaica is highly honoured that we continue to attract the attention of the world and receive accolades for the continued high quality experience that destination Jamaica provides.

This award as the Caribbean’s lead cruised destination is symptomatic of that strong presence of Jamaica as a go to place to enjoy and consume rich cultural assets. I congratulate the stakeholder and partners all and I am confident that Jamaica will continue to repeat these performances as our experiences continue to exceed expectation.

Executive Vice President and Managing Editor of Caribbean Journal, Guy Britton said, “Jamaica’s cruise sector continues to grow and visitors are increasingly seeking out the authentic experiences at the various ports in Montego Bay, Falmouth and Ocho Rios.”

As part of efforts to improve the overall cruise experience, Jamaica Vacations (JAMVAC), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism which has responsibility for the cruise sector, has implemented local entertainment at all ports to encourage more disembarkation of guests; and has real time monitoring of guest experiences through their digital happy or not motors among other things.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; February 1, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says recent figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) reveal that Jamaica welcomed 202,192 visitors in January, which represents a 9% increase over the same period in 2018.

“I am very pleased to share that Jamaica’s tourism sector continues to grow and surpass our projections. These figures from January are indeed, very impressive and are a result of the strong marketing efforts our team has been utilizing in key markets across the globe, “said Minister Bartlett.

The data also outlines that for the period of January 1 - 31, 2019, Montego Bay welcomed 173,745 which is an 8.2% increase over the same period in 2018. Kingston also saw a 14% increase, with a record 28,447 visiting the city last month.

“The growth of tourism locally underscores the invaluable worth of the industry as a powerful driver of economic growth and development. This 9% increase represents 16,661 more arrivals, when compared to the same period in 2018,” said the Minister.

These figures follow on the country having a record 2018, with over 4.3 million arrivals and $3.3 billion in earnings.