KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 20, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has embarked on a local vacation, more popularly known as a staycation, which will take him across the island to review the various tourism products. The staycation is also being used to encourage more Jamaicans to choose to vacation at home.

“I will over the next couple of days visit several hotels and attractions island wide as part of a re-familiarization tour to test our tourism products and offerings. It is critical that as Tourism Minister, I have first-hand knowledge of what destination Jamaica has to offer with a view to ensuring that what we advertise is what we are indeed offering,

It is also a way to remind Jamaicans that vacationing at home is also a viable option that will allow them to truly appreciate what millions oversees travel to experience yearly” said Minister Bartlett.

Jamaica has several attractions and tours including plantation tours & great houses, dolphin parks and nature reserves, museums, galleries and soft adventure tours. In terms of accommodations, currently, the island’s room stock exceeds 26,000.

As a popular tourism destination, the island has received numerous global awards over the years including World’s Leading Wedding Destination and Leading Cruise Destination. In March this year, Jamaica was awarded the prestigious Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) International Travel Award under the Category ‘Jamaica – Best Adventure Destination. The PATWA International Awards have an earned a reputation as one of the most coveted and sought after awards of the travel trade and are now in their 18th year since they were incepted in 1999.

Minister Bartlett added that, “Our consistent international recognition as a leading destination and 42% repeat guest rate is not by accident, but due to our professional and warm tourism workers as well as our deliberate strategies for product development and assurance.  We are therefore committed to improving our products and service delivery at every level of the tourism value chain.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 17, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, the Old Fort Craft Market in Montego Bay will receive upgrades valued at $33 million. The work will be carried out by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and will include restoration to the heritage park at a cost of $25million and improvement of bathroom facilities at a cost of $8million.

Following a tour of the Old Fort Craft Market yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “I am taking a holistic view of this upgrade and renovation and have instructed the technical team to come back to me with a design for a repurposing of this Old Fort craft experience that will embrace aspects of our heritage, gastronomy and entertainment.”

Minister Bartlett added that, “The aim is to fully build out the heritage park experience and I want it to be completely integrated and become a more attractive site for our tourists who will get to know our story through a full cultural display which the market has the capacity to provide.”

The upgrade to the Old Fort Craft Market will include refurbishing of the cannons, story boards and wishing well, landscaping, and renovation of the restrooms. The work is being carried out as part of the Ministry of Tourism’s overall strategy to utilize historical sites to add value to existing products and attract more tourists who are interested in these sites. Work is expected to begin on Monday August 20.

In highlighting the strategic positioning and cultural importance of Old Fort Craft Market in the sector, Minister Bartlett concluded that, “This is unique from the rest of the craft market experiences across Jamaica, as Old Fort has the potential for a complete touristic experience through heritage, history, food and entertainment. The location is truly a gem and when a cruise passenger leaves the ship and looks back at the sea form Old Fort with nice beautiful foliage, local designs and some of our heritage, they will get a real taste of Jamaican paradise.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 15, 2018:  Noting that most island economies in the Caribbean are based on highly climate-sensitive industries and sectors like tourism and agriculture, Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says the region’s media have an important role to play as a contributor to the local, regional and global discussion on climate change.

Minister Bartlett was giving the keynote address at the CBU 2017 Caribbean Broadcasting Awards on Tuesday night (August 14), at the Courtleigh Auditorium, New Kingston.

“Climate change is a complex issue with enormous political, social and economic implications. There is much work to be done to shape public perception and understanding of this issue while helping to shape policies and encourage policymakers to act,” the Tourism Minister said.

“At the same time, effective mitigation of climate change is a process rather than an outcome and media can play an integral role each step of the way. You must be advocates.  You must be watchdogs. You must be the facilitators of change,” Minister Bartlett continued.

He noted that Caribbean media organizations are in a powerful position to instigate positive debate and shape what people think, feel, and do about climate change and building resilience to its impact.

Recalling the devastation of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, the Tourism Minister said it underscored the Caribbean’s major stake in the climate change story. Economic losses exceeded $100 billion, with GDP losses ranging from 10 percent to 224 percent in the case of Dominica. 

He said that according to a World Travel & Tourism Council industry study, the 2017 hurricane season resulted in an estimated loss of 826,100 visitors to the Caribbean, compared to pre-hurricane forecasts. Those tourists could have spent US$741 million and sustained more than 11,000 jobs.

In closing, Minister Bartlett invited the CBU to partner with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in building the capacity of Caribbean islands to not only withstand disruptions but also, most importantly, to bounce back and thrive after a disruption.

The Centre was one of the major outcomes of last November’s UNWTO Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Montego Bay. It will assist with destinations preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods. These include climate change and natural disasters, cybercrime, cyber-security, pandemics, terrorism and war.

It will be located at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and will be operational in September and launched officially in January 2019.

“The most important function for that Centre is going to be communication; getting the information out in a coherent fashion, to be able to stay on message and enable the world to understand what is happening in the Caribbean when these disruptions take place,” the Minister said.

As a precursor to the Centre’s soft opening on September 13, Jamaica will host a resilience summit with key global stakeholders and thought leaders at the UWI, under the theme ‘Tourism Resilience through Global Synergies’.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Monday, August 13, 2018: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has called on craft traders and producers in the resort city of Montego Bay to put themselves in order and prepare for increased sales opportunity.

Noting that expansion of cruise shipping for Montego Bay is on stream, Minister Bartlett said, “The port is being expanded to accommodate the largest ship in Carnival Cruise Lines that is to come in 2020 and the Aida is also going to bring their largest ship with 6,000 passengers, during the period, so we have to prepare ourselves for the expansion and the larger volume that is coming.”

His assurance was given to executive members of the Harbour Street Craft Market during a walk-through to speak one-on-one with traders and producers on Friday August 10, 2018.

Mr Bartlett also spoke to the need for marketing and use of social media. “We’re going to have to start marketing through internet marketing platform CLIO, who we are going to engage so that all our markets will be on their schedule and that will help to position you on board the ships before they come so that people will know where they are going and not be taken anywhere when they get off at the port,” he said.

The Harbour Street Craft Market tour was part of a planned move by the Tourism Minister to have an overall look at the product through visiting locations, seeing what is being offered and discussing with stakeholder groups the way forward.

“It’s important for us to ensure that the strategy of building the retentive capacity of our economy for the tourism dollar is understood by all and that need for us to keep more of the dollar in Jamaica supersedes all the other needs right now,” said Mr Bartlett as he underscored the realization that “what makes that retention happen is the local capacity that we build and that is about the ordinary Jamaican who is providing the creative experience that the visitor consumes when they come here.”

He saw his role in this as giving expression to that through policy and strategy development “to enable more and more of our local Jamaicans to benefit from the growth of tourism.” To do so, he underlined that the industry was operating in a changing market and all partners in the industry had to be responsive to the changes.

Mr Bartlett said building artisan villages in resort townships and restructuring what exists while maintaining some concepts and developing lines of communication were all part of creating the new architecture in fashioning a new experience.

He said his visit was critical to the whole process and he would be visiting other markets in Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio. “We want to sensitize more so that people at all levels understand that this new tourism is big trillion dollar business and more countries are now involved in tourism than ever so the competition for the cruise and stopover people is greater now than it has ever been and everybody is doing new, fresh things so we have to do that too or else we’re going to be left out.”

While noting that there as much to be done, Mr Bartlett said he had observed an improvement in the quality of craft work on sale in the market but that the stalls were too congested.

Minister Bartlett was presented with an action plan for the Harbour Street Craft Market by president of National Craft Traders and Producers Association, Melody Haughton Adams, who has been a trader in the market for many years.

Among those accompanying Minister Bartlett on his tour were Chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Godfrey Dyer and Chairman of the Tourism Product Development Company, Ian Dear.

BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth; Thursday, August 9, 2018: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett is currently reviewing the policy governing the use of the Black River for safari tours. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the current moratorium allows operations at an optimal level on the river with respect to carrying capacity.

Speaking at a site visit at one of the safari tours in the parish yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “We have a policy that we had developed in relation to the use of the Black River and now my review will look at the capacity and density as there is a call for greater regulation and monitoring of the use of the river,

“In discussion with the tour operators, it was highlighted that the carrying capacity is not so much the problem but the discipline and as such we need to create an arrangement that will foster orderly conduct among all operators and full compliance with respect to licensing so we can all benefit and earn from the river.”

The popular Black River Safari tours have been in operation for close to 30 years and attract many tourists annually. It is a guided motor launch tour, lasting approximately 1 1/2 hours, starting from the town of Black River, and going up into the Black River Lower Morass, Jamaica's largest wetland area.

In emphasizing the need for greater regulation, Minister Bartlett added that, “Without discipline and proper regulation of the river, we can have accidents which create problems not just for the tour operators in terms of paying large sums for damages but also reputational damage to the destination. We don’t want to be reading that there are accidents on the Black River.”

There is also the issue of harm being done to the crocodiles which serve as the main pull for the attraction, “The maintenance of the population of the crocodiles plays a major role in making the Black River a popular attraction along with the biodiversity and overall river experience,

“People come to see the crocodiles and witness what they have not seen anywhere else and so we want to encourage that they are not harmed but instead urge the culturing and nurturing of these protected animals,” said Minister Bartlett.

MONTEGO BAY, St. James; August 3, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, cruise ship passengers will be treated to a variety of cultural activities more frequently, as part of efforts to enhance their Jamaican experience.

Speaking at the Ministry’s ‘Emancipendence’ celebrations at water square in Falmouth and the Montego Bay pier on Wednesday August 1, 2018, Minister Bartlett underscored the need for more cultural engagement with visitors, “Our visitors must be treated to more opinionated experiences that will make Jamaica top of mind in their vacation choices. We will therefore create new engagement with cruise ship passengers on cruise days through craft, art and entertainment through local singers and dancers.”

To commemorate Jamaica’s emancipation and upcoming independence, the Ministry of Tourism through its Tourism Linkages Network and Jamaica Vacations, hosted two ‘Emancipendence’ events, under the theme ‘One Love, One Family, One Jamaica’, to educate and entertain cruise ship passengers and locals.

Passengers and locals were exposed to cultural dances like bruckins and maypole and the history of Jamaica’s independence through a play. The events also formed part of a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to highlight Jamaica’s history and cultural significance.

“We will be working very closely with Entertainment and Culture Minister, Olivia Babsy Grange to ensure every cruise day becomes an opportunity to expose our local talent and suppliers of local goods to our visitors who are seeking authentic Jamaican experiences. They want to hear our music, taste our food and take back our art and craft as keepsakes,

“This will also give our local suppliers more opportunities to earn and ultimately benefit from the tourism value chain.” Minister Bartlett added.

For the first six months of the year, Jamaica’s cruise arrivals increased by 4.8% with over 1Million visitors. Cruise arrivals also accounted for US$100.6m in foreign exchange earnings, up 9.4%.

PORT ANTONIO, Portland; July 30, 2018: Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett heaped praises on the strides made by the Alligator Head Foundation, a Portland based environmental body, during the opening of a Community-based Dive and Non-Motorized Water-sport facility in Portland last Thursday.

“The mission of Alligator Head Foundation to focus on science, art, and community, in a collaborative approach to protecting fish stocks; restoring habitats and regenerating local economies, harmonies well with TEF’s commitment to environmental protection which to date stands at over $430 million to,” Minister Bartlett commented.

The Tourism Minister also took time out to commend the Alligator Head Foundation, especially its founder, Francesca Von Habsburg, for the fantastic job that they been doing to help safeguard the country’s fish population and the environment in general.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony, which attracted tourism interests, stakeholders, and industry players, Minister Bartlett said the establishment of the facility was just under $19 million dollars.

“This project has been established through a collaborative effort between the Alligator Head Foundation and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) with an allocation of just under $19 million dollars,

"This enabled the construction of a floating dock, purchase of a patrol boat and a glass bottom boat, acquisition of office equipment to support administrative functions of dive operations, establishment of Special Fisheries Conservation Area (SFCA) and marketing, purchase equipment for non-motorized water craft activities and enhancement of an interpretative visitor centre,” Minister Bartlett added.

Minister Bartlett noted that Portland will continue to see an expansion in tourism facilities and growth in both cruise arrivals and stopovers. He noted that while the country is attracting big money investors, there is a need for Portlanders to get more involved in helping to build the tourism industry and their communities.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 30, 2018:  Hailing the Hotel Four Seasons as a standard-bearer for small properties in Kingston, Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett said the 60^th anniversary of the landmark hotel comes at a time when we are seeing a renaissance in tourism development in the island’s capital.

“Small hotels remain central to the experience of the destination and continue to play a pivotal role in attracting a particular demographic into our space,” said Minister Bartlett, speaking last Friday (July 27) at a cocktail reception to mark the New Kingston hotel’s anniversary.  “We recognize therefore the pioneering role of Hotel Four Seasons in building out that cadre of small hotels and particularly creating Kingston as that space that now is becoming a very popular and desired destination,” he added.

Of Jamaica’s more than 200 hotels currently in operation, some 164 are small and medium sized properties with 200 rooms or less. These hotels account for approximately one third of Jamaica’s current room stock.

Allaying any concerns of overtourism as is happening in some European cities, the Tourism Minister pledged that tourism would not happen at the expense of the people of the country. “We have to make sure we build the product so that we remain not only a discerning destination but a distinctive destination, a desirable destination and one in which people have a livable and moveable space,” he said.

Minister Bartlett praised the hotel’s founders, German-born sisters Christa Lundh and the late Helga Stoeckert, for their commitment to local suppliers. “Helga and Christa bought from the local farmers and the local suppliers and in so doing helped to keep the dollar in Jamaica and that is very important to us. This is the retention capacity that we are talking about of the US dollar earned.   We retain it when we supply on the demand of tourism, we lose it when we import and bring in foreign goods to supply the needs of the tourist,” noted Minister Bartlett.

“We are committed to making sure that the benefits of tourism accrue to the people of the destination because tourism has that capacity to become like a plantation where the benefits of tourism are repatriated with the flights that come in with the visitors.

“We are determined to build through our linkages the absorptive capacity within our economy to make sure that the supplies that the visitor requires are sourced locally, created locally and become the creative output of the people of Jamaica,” said Minister Bartlett.

Noting the growth of Hotel Four Seasons from four rooms to 114, Minister Bartlett praised the management and staff for its excellent service to the tourism sector as well as the local community.

The anniversary function was attended by family, friends, suppliers, representatives of corporate Jamaica and tourism stakeholders, including the former Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Kenneth Hall and Lady Hall; Daniela and Mike Bauer, Directors of Hotel Four Seasons; the Right Rev. Dr. Robert Thompson, Anglican Suffragan of Kingston; and Camille Needham, Executive Director of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

ANNOTTO BAY, St Mary; Friday, July 27, 2018: The people of Annotto Bay and surrounding communities now have a modern beach equipped with state of the art facilities to enjoy at their leisure.

Marking Stone Beach, which has been upgraded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) at a cost of $38.3 million, was officially opened this Wednesday by Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.

In upgrading the beach, he said a complete entertainment facility had been created making it an attraction in its own right with three gazebos, well-appointed restroom, parking facilities, a guard house, landscaping works and other improvements.

“We recognize that beaches are a great resource of tourism. In fact our scenic beaches attract a large number of domestic and inbound tourists. This is why we have ensured that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has committed to transform one each in every parish into a quality recreational space,” Minister Bartlett said.

Minister Bartlett added that these beaches must operate at the highest and best international standards “and must be available to residents and visitors alike.”

To date, in addition to $38.3 million on Marking Stone Beach, the TEF has spent over $104 million on three other beaches in its overall beach development programme, with Lyssons Beach in St Thomas to be opened next having been upgraded at a cost of $49 million; Boston in Portland, $27.8 million and Burwood in Trelawny, $28 million.

“We’re excited about this because tourism is growing at an enormously fast pace and the growth in Jamaica is a reflection of the global rate that is taking place. In fact, we are growing ahead of the world growth pattern, and even then we are ahead of the global growth pattern for the next ten years in tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

Mr Bartlett said with the growth in tourism, the need for space to accommodate millions of tourists plus the local population could create tension as happens in some countries with over tourism. There was therefore the need to build new capacities to deal with expansion and growth of the industry to prevent friction over the occupation of space by an increasing population of tourist and locals combined.

“That is why we have to spend so much on expanding our beaches and to make sure that there are adequate beach and recreational facilities for the Jamaican people as well as for the tourists and it’s within that context that we are doing ten beaches this year across Jamaica,” he said.

Concurrently, he said, “We are also looking at what we call liveable and walkable spaces so the Ministry of Tourism is working with Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), through TEF to improve the physical condition of a number of communities across the country so that Jamaicans working in the industry won’t leave wonderful hotels and go back to less than ideal living conditions.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; July 27, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that Jamaica will host a resilience summit with key global stakeholders and thought leaders on September 13 at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The date was selected to commemorate hurricanes Irma and Maria, two of the most devastating weather systems to have affected the region.

“This summit forms part of my ministry’s efforts to build resilience within the region and globally. Resilience building has become even more crucial in a world that is hyper connected and as such more susceptible to climate change, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism and cybercrime,” Minister Bartlett said.

The resilience summit, to be held under the theme ‘Tourism Resilience through Global Synergies’, will seek to assess existing and emerging disruptions related to tourism management globally;  examine the risk of these disruptions to the global tourism product; and identify a synergetic strategic and operational framework for mutual partnerships between and among major governmental, non-governmental and business entities to address as well as develop mitigation strategies for these global disruptions.

Speaking today at the press conference in Montego Bay to announce the summit, Minister Bartlett added that this is “A precursor to the official launch of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in January next year and this centre will be the global hub to assist destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that affect tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally.”

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre was one of the major outcomes of the Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism under the esteemed partnership of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Government of Jamaica, the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Slated to be housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona, the Centre will have a Chairman of the Board of Directors and Vice Chairmen include Dr. Talib Rifai, former UNWTO Secretary General and the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica. Dr. Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Professor Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis management at Bournemouth University, England will be members of the Board of Directors.