MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; April 29, 2018: The role of tourism in Jamaica achieving its sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 2030, has been highlighted at the 19^th annual Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) conference, held over three days at the Holiday Inn Resort.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett headed a list of senior executives at the ministry underscoring the invaluable worth of the industry to the country as a tourism dependent state, the push for growth and measures to ensure sustainability today.

Minister Bartlett said tourism was one of the main catalysts of the SDGs and, sustainability of the industry was about safeguarding the environment through the product, empowering those benefiting from it to have economic independence, and socially building communities and the capacity of the people to produce more.

“These are the three broad areas that we’re focussed on and they require rigorous thinking and academic pursuit. It requires for us spending long hours not just framing the ideas but being able to codify and position these ideas that they become available for further consideration and thought by other people,” he told the gathering of regional university academics. He said it was by refining such thinking “and building out more specifics about them that we can then apply them to practical areas and bring value to our area.”

He pointed out that the movers in tourism were driven by think tanks and indicated that the ministry would be fostering collaboration with SALISES.

Meanwhile, head of the Tourism Linkages Unit, Carolyn McDonald-Riley pointed out that tourism was aligned to several of the sustainable development goals with the primary aim being “to increase consumption of goods and services that can be competitively sourced locally, with the aim of increasing employment and increasing earning potential while generating and harnessing foreign exchange earnings.”

Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Dr Carey Wallace, said the ministry’s thrust into the South American travel market was part of the strategy to do away with seasonal tourism and ensure year-round consistent employment for workers.

Responding to a concern for the effect of plastic waste on the environment, Executive Director of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Dr Andrew Spencer said the agency was having recycling competitions in a number of areas. One was held in Falmouth recently which engaged students on how to treat plastic waste and another is slated for Treasure Beach in another two weeks.

He said TPDCo was committed to awareness of the effects of climate change responses and ensuing that going forward new tourism developments included safeguards.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; April 25, 2018:  Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett today announced that major American airline Delta, will add new daily non-stop flights between Kingston and New York City's John F Kennedy International Airport, starting December 20, 2018.

Bartlett said that the move is welcomed and will benefit tourism including Diaspora tourism.

“I was very happy to receive news that Delta will be increasing flights to Kingston to meet the growing demand to visit our island paradise. This will add to the other daily nonstop flights offered by other carriers. It is also timely in light of the fact that we have three new hotels opening within 12 to 18 months and an increasing number of home stay accommodation options around the city,” said the Minister. 

The airline will be operating the Kingston flights on Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which includes 16 business class seats. 

The news comes after Spirit Airlines recently announced plans to increase flights between Kingston and Fort Lauderdale daily on a seasonal basis.  

Minister Bartlett is currently in South America on a JTB coordinated tour. He is joined by JTB Head, Donovan White; Senior Advisor/Strategist, Delano Seiveright; JTB Deputy Director of Tourism, Sales/USA and Latin America, Donnie Dawson and other senior JTB and Ministry officials. 

LIMA, Peru; Tuesday April 24, 2018: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett will sign a Multi Destination Marketing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Peru to strengthen tourism in both countries. The Multi-Destination MOU is slated to be signed in October this year.

"The MOU, which aims to strengthen partnership and tourism products, will connect with Eco and Cultural tourism to include entertainment and then training through the Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation," Minister Bartlett said.

Minister Bartlett added that, "A major area of the MOU will be to look at how we build our resilience and crisis management capabilities within the region."

Vice-Minister of Tourism for Peru, Silvia Ruiz Zarate, has welcomed the initiative and said "We have many things in common that we can work together on such as gastronomy, cultural tourism and Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) and look forward to the collaboration in these areas."

"The additional flights scheduled to come on stream will also boost arrivals and help the cultural exchange between both countries," Vice-Minister Zarate added.

In highlighting the importance of partnering with Peru, Minister Bartlett said SMTEs, which account for 80% of Tourism; Minister Bartlett said "This MOU will give energy to these key partners who are the main economic drivers in the industry but get the least share of the wealth. The aim is to enable small countries to get wealth from tourism because the power of that wealth is in the hands of the creative products."

Jamaica has signed Multi Destination MOUs with Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. 

This arrangement will be beneficial to all countries involved as they will gain access to a significantly larger market which will lead to sustainable growth.

JTB Head, Donovan White; Senior Advisor/Strategist to Minister Bartlett, Delano Seiveright and other Ministry and JTB officials form part of the tour across South America that will take the team across Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia.

Engagements include meetings with the leadership of Latin America’s largest airlines including COPA, LATAM and Avianca; the largest tour operators; leaders of travel focused TV, Radio, print and online media; Government officials and influential travel agents.

Santiago, Chile; April 23, 2018: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett says plans to advance arrangements for non-stop flights between Peru and Montego Bay, Jamaica, have advanced after a successful meeting with Senior Executives of LATAM Airlines Group at their headquarters in Chile.

“The meeting is the strongest signal that the Latin American market is now going to come into its own. We could see three flights per week between their Lima, Peru hub and Montego Bay, Jamaica within 12 months,” Minister Bartlett said.

Last week, the Minister also announced that one of Latin America’s largest airlines, COPA, will increase to daily its service between Panama City and Montego Bay starting July of this year bringing to eleven the overall number of flights weekly between both countries.

“With Copa Airlines increasing service into Montego Bay to a daily flight coupled with their 4 flights a week into Kingston, LATAM’s entry would increase to 14 the number of nonstop flights out of Latin America into Jamaica every week.

“The implications of these increased flights will be significant for the expansion of growth in South America and we could very well see my projection of 50,000 to 60,000 visitors out of the region by 2020,” said Minister Bartlett.

According to data received by the Ministry, approximately with 10,000 tourists visit Jamaica annually from Argentina and Chile – which accounts for the bulk of tourist arrivals from Latin America to the island. However, limited cost effective and seamless air connectivity has been a hindrance for attracting more tourists from South America to Jamaica.

To further strengthen efforts to increase connectivity between Jamaica and South America, Minister Bartlett will also meet with the leadership of Latin America’s largest airlines, such as Colombian airline Avianca. He will also meet with major tour operators; leaders of travel focused TV, Radio, print and online media; Government officials and influential travel agents.

LATAM Airlines Group is Latin America’s leading airline group with one of the largest route networks in the world, offering air services to around 140 destinations in 25 countries, and is present in six domestic markets in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in addition to operations elsewhere around the globe. It operates more than 1,200 flights per day and transports 67 million passengers per year

During his trip to South America, the Minister has been joined by Director of Tourism, Donovan White; Senior Advisor/Strategist Delano Seiveright and other Ministry of Tourism officials. The Minister and his delegation, is expected to return to the island on April 26, 2018.

Santiago, Chile; April 22, 2018: Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett this week announced that one of Latin America’s largest airlines, COPA, will increase to daily its service between Panama City and Montego Bay starting July of this year bringing to eleven the overall number of flights weekly between both countries.

The announcement was made to large audiences of travel media, tour operators, airline executives and travel agents at Jamaica Tourist Board organized receptions in both capital cities, Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile.

 “The move to daily service between Panama City, Copa’s major hub, and Montego Bay, our tourist capital, will make it easier for tourists visiting from several nations including Argentina and Chile which are among our most robust Latin American markets. Now they can any day of the week hop on a flight in Buenos Aires (Argentina’s capital) or Santiago (Chile’s capital) and connect seamlessly via Panama City and be in Jamaica for quality vacation time. This is a game changer that will lift arrival numbers from this important part of South America.”, Bartlett noted.

The meeting was the first of a series of market engagements across several South American nations by the JTB with industry leaders as Bartlett’s team focuses on growing tourist traffic from Latin America which recorded an over 16 percent increase in stopover tourist arrivals last year alone.

“Latin America is a very large market with a rapidly growing middle-class keen on travelling the world. Already we are seeing both strong interest and increased growth. Argentina and Chile specifically contributed approximately 10,000 visitors last year alone. With increasing airlift options and a more targeted program of engagement by the JTB in this marketplace I am confident that we will grow more significantly. I have set a target aimed at doubling the number of Argentinean and Chilean tourists coming into Jamaica from a combined total of 10,000 to 20,000 by 2021,” Bartlett stated.

Several resorts chains with operations in Jamaica were involved in the stakeholder engagements with the Argentinean and Chilean travel community including Sandals, Moon Palace, Blue Diamond Resorts operators of Royalton and RIU.

Limited cost effective and seamless air connectivity is seen as a major hindrance for attracting more tourists from South America to Jamaica.

JTB Head, Donovan White; Senior Advisor/Strategist to Minister Bartlett, Delano Seiveright and other Ministry and JTB officials form part of the tour across South America that will take the team across Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia. Engagements include meetings with the leadership of Latin America’s largest airlines including COPA, LATAM and Avianca; the largest tour operators; leaders of travel focused TV, Radio, print and online media; Government officials and influential travel agents.

The Minister is expected to return to the island on April 26, 2018.