KINGSTON, Jamaica; February 2, 2018: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica will host the next Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's (CHTA) annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace (CTM), scheduled for the first quarter of 2019.

The Caribbean Travel Marketplace is the largest and most prominent tourism marketing event in the Caribbean. It serves as an important platform to enhance exchanges between tourism suppliers from around the world.

Minister Bartlett made the announcement following a successful bid to CHTA’s CEO Frank Comito in San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier this week.

“I am very pleased to announce that Jamaica will once again play host to an important tourism event, which will see thousands of delegates, stakeholders and investors in attendance from across the region. It is an incredible achievement for our country and I am certain we will reap significant benefits,” said Minister Bartlett.

The CTM gives thousands of suppliers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with wholesalers from the Caribbean over the course of two days. It showcases hotels, tourist boards, destination management companies, tour operators, airlines among others related to the travel industry.

While in Puerto Rico, the Minister also participated in a press conference where he gave an update on the Global Resilience Centre, which should be situated at the University of the West Indies, Mona — with oversight from United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the World Travel & Tourism Council and CHTA.

The Centre, which was recently endorsed by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, will be designed to assist affected states to combat disruptive events and strengthen capacity to predict and manage crises. It will also include a Sustainable Tourism Observatory, which will assist preparedness, management and recovery of crises which impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods.

Minister Bartlett also announced plans to host another international conference in Montego Bay, with special focus on Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises in January, 2019.

The Minister is accompanied by Executive Director of the Tourism Product Development Company, Dr. Andrew Spencer in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  He is expected to return to the island on February 03, 2017.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA; January 30, 2018:  Mr. Donovan White has been selected to fill the position of Director of Tourism of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), after an extensive local and international search. His appointment has been announced by Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett. 

Mr. White, a Jamaican national, whose term as head of the country’s tourism marketing agency, will commence officially on February 15, 2018, brings with him many years of marketing and business development experience. He served recently as Vice President of Cable & Wireless Business, Jamaica, where he was responsible for year over year revenue growth of 29 percent and 12 percent in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 respectively.

Prior to that, Mr. White served as Vice President, Marketing, Sales & Media Services at Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited (FLOW), leading commercial teams to deliver revenue growth in 2013 and 2014. During that period, he was responsible for delivering a 25 percent year over year growth in sales from trade.

Mr. White has also held the positions of General Manager of Caledonia Outdoor Advertising Limited, where he helped to reduce the cost of operations by 25 percent and grow revenues by 15 percent and Digicel Group Limited, working as Marketing Director for Jamaica, Guyana and the Northern OECS, managing the execution of some of the largest and most successful brand and tactical campaigns.

He also served as Vice President, Sales & Marketing, CVM Communications Group Limited, growing sales output for four consecutive years between 1998 and 2001.

With a solid background in marketing, digital media and business development, the Director-designate is expected to build upon the past successes of the Jamaica Tourist Board, help the JTB expand its global reach and continue to forge a strong partnership with the private sector. 

“We are pleased with Mr. White’s appointment,” said the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism.  “He brings a solid business acumen and marketing savvy to the Jamaica Tourist Board, having developed, managed and executed vertically integrated marketing and branding strategies for a range of industry sectors including media, telecoms, advertising and technology. As a member of Jamaica’s tourism team, I am confident that Mr. White’s experience will assist the JTB to continue on its current path of delivering increased tourism results through innovative public and private sector partnerships.” 

In commenting on Mr. White’s appointment, Mr. John Lynch, Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board noted, “Donovan brings the right experience and the respect of the marketing and business sectors to this important position.  In his capacity as Director of Tourism, he will lead the JTB as Jamaica’s tourist industry continues to grow in a highly globalized and technology driven world.” 

Mr. Donnie Dawson currently serving as Interim Director will continue in that role until Mr. White assumes office.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 25, 2018:   Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, newly released figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) for December 2017, highlight that Jamaica’s tourism product continues to see record-breaking growth in visitor arrivals.

In December 2017, Cruise Passenger Arrivals grew by 14 per cent and stop-over arrivals were also up 9.3 per cent, when compared to the same period in 2016.

“We have been placing a lot of focus on the development and improvement of our cruise industry. I am very proud to see the results of our efforts. I am especially pleased that the total cruise arrivals included arrivals from less popular ports – Kingston and Port Antonio. Port Antonio welcomed 984 passengers and Kingston welcomed 4,162 visitors,” said Minister Bartlett.

According to the data, Jamaica welcomed a total of 208,212 passengers from 74 cruise ship calls.  Significant increases were seen from Falmouth Port, which is up 17.6 per cent, with 94,090 passengers from 21 cruise ship calls. Ocho Rios port also saw an increase of 21.6 per cent, with 56,211 passengers from 20 cruise ship calls.

Stop-over arrivals are also up by 9.3 per cent, with another record total of 251,800 arrivals for December 2017, when compared to the same period in 2016.

“Our highest increase for December came from the Latin American market, which is up by 27 percent with a total of 3,001 arrivals. However, we continue to consistently perform from our key markets – USA and Europe,” said the Minister.

He added that USA is up 9.4 per cent, with 156,660 arrivals – with the highest increase seen from the Southern States.   The country also welcomed 33,662 stop-over visitors from Europe, which represents an increase of 9 per cent.

“When first re-elected as Tourism Minister, I noticed a significant decrease in the Canadian market. We had to place special strategies in place to ensure that this was quickly addressed.  I am proud to say that our rescue package has proved successful and our latest figures show that Canada is up 10.5 per cent,” said the Minister. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 19, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that the Government of Jamaica has been in discussions with a number of investors to resuscitate the railway programme to Appleton Estate, which he hopes will result in an increase of tourists visiting the South Coast of the island. The project has a completion date of 2020. 

Speaking at the launch of the newly opened Joy Spence Appleton Rum Estate Tour on January 18, 2017, the Minister said that, “the rail is going to be a reality. The last discussion I had, before I went to my meetings in Spain last week, was with the team of entrepreneurs who are putting the dollars together.”

“There is a local group who were able to tell me that $40 million is on the table now to start the first leg of the programme, which will take us to Catadupa and the second leg into Appleton .The Prime Minister, Minister of Transport and I are excited about coordinating with them to start the first phase of the tracks being put back and the system being active,” he continued.  

The Minister also disclosed that commitments have also been made to improve the roadway to the iconic Appleton Rum Estate, which recently received a US$7.2 million upgrade to its facilities.

“The Prime Minister, who is also a great supporter of this experience, wanted me to share that he is personally committed to ensuring that the transportation arrangements to enable seamless flow of visitors into this destination is in place. The road improvement programme is on the cards for this fiscal year to come and the Tourism Enhancement Fund will provide assistance with that,” he said.

The reopening of the railway and improved roadways, in conjunction with the Appleton Rum Tour, is expected to improve community tourism along the route and provide increased economic opportunities for stakeholders.

As the island’s oldest distillery, Appleton Estate is already the biggest tourist attraction on the south coast, bringing in tens of thousands of visitors a year.  With the new upgrade more than 100,000 visitors are expected to visit the home of Appleton to experience how the world-leading premium rums are produced.

“I am committed to working with you at Appleton to move the projected 100,000 visitors to 250,000 by 2020.  Next week I am going to be talking to some partners in Miami, who I know will have an interest in this particular experience,” said the Minister.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 19, 2018 – Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett would like to reassure visitors that Jamaica remains safe during the State of Public Emergency for the Parish of St. James. The action taken by the Government is not arbitrary as it required a great deal of strategic planning.

“The present state of global security has created a heightened sense of awareness in travelers,” said Minister Bartlett. “These enhanced security measures are not out of the ordinary in international tourism markets and therefore would be understood by visitors and welcomed by residents.”

The Jamaican citizenry have been supportive of this action with a resident from the affected area declaring, “This is the best thing that could have happened at this time. It is like a belated Christmas gift.”

“All members of the tourism fraternity have given their full support to the measure and are feeling that these actions are welcome to ensure the safety of Jamaica’s guests and citizens,” added Minister Bartlett.

What is a State of Public Emergency

·         A State of Public Emergency is a tool to ensure enhanced security for all entering and leaving a particular geographic area.

·         Law enforcement agents are trained in human rights and will appropriately interact with all persons.

·         Persons may be stopped at various check points and asked for information to verify identity.

·         There is no need to modify movements as restrictions in the stated areas should not adversely impact law abiding persons.

·         All business activities will function as normal including all airports, cruise ports, hotels, and attractions

Jamaica remains a safe place for tourists and the statistics reflect this fact. Jamaica’s overall crime rate in respect to crimes against visitors is .01%. 

Every year, Jamaica welcomes visitors and volunteers from around the world to enjoy all that Jamaica has to offer. Provisional data shows a record breaking 4.3 million tourists visited Jamaica in 2017, which represents a 12.1 per cent increase over arrivals in 2016.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 16, 2018:  Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, newly-appointed Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili, has pledged his full support for the establishment of the first Global Tourism Resilience Centre in Jamaica.

The centre, which was first announced during the recently concluded UNWTO Global Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James, will be tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle the recovery process.

It will also include a Sustainable Tourism Observatory, which will assist preparedness, management and recovery of crises which impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods.

The Minister, who met with the Secretary General on January 15 at the UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, shared that “The UNWTO will spearhead with us the building out of the facility. They will also assist in the solicitation of resources from a number of multilateral partners and other countries that have an interest in resilience building.

They will also help us to target countries that have similar vulnerabilities as us in the Caribbean and have some experience in building capacity to deal with disruptive events such as as hurricanes like the ones we had recently, earthquakes, cybercrimes and cyber-attacks, terrorism and health issues that are pandemic or epidemic.”

The Minister also disclosed that the UNWTO will be using Jamaica as a model — particularly the five key networks of the Tourism Linkages initiative which includes: Gastronomy; Shopping; Entertainment and Sports; Health and Wellness; and Knowledge.

“Jamaica has set a pace and the UNWTO has bought into our concept. We are very pleased that they will be looking at expanding and developing the Jamaican tourism model as a prototype for the rest of the world,” said the Minister.

Zurab Pololikashvili was elected by consensus at the 22nd UNWTO General Assembly being held in Chengdu, China, following the recommendation of the 105th UNWTO Executive Council. He is the current Ambassador of Georgia to Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Andorra and will serve as Secretary General for the period 2018-2021. 

Minister Bartlett is currently in Madrid, Spain with his junior advisor Gis’elle Jones. They are scheduled to return to the island on January 17, 2018.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Monday, January 15, 2018: Parish Court judges have been made more aware of the critical role they can play in building confidence for the safety and security of visitors to the island.

Through the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), hosted a two-day workshop for parish judges at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. The workshop aimed at informing them of the impact of tourism on the national economy and how the issue of harassment can derail the industry.

Emphasizing that visitors pay for an experience when they come here and that their presence positively impact “a series of moving parts,”, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said, “We have to protect them because it impacts so many people and so many of us can disrupt the seamlessness of this experience.”

He told the parish judges, “All of us have to become a part of the custody of this product.”

The Tourism Minister underscored the link between tourism and other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing in the value chain, and said “the mission therefore is for us to build our capacity to produce those things that services the export so as to retain the dollar.”

Notwithstanding the importance of what is being offered, Minister Bartlett said the quality of the experience of the visitor was more about “the warmth and the hospitality and the feeling of safety, security and seamlessness and 60 percent of the value of the experience of the visitor is about that.”

It was important for all Jamaicans to make visitors feel comfortable and safe, he underscored while acknowledging that infractions against them were very low, “cultural differences can impact negatively on us if we aren’t au fait with how the people feel.” He cited that Jamaicans being a ‘touchy’ people, exuded a lot of hugging and warmth but that for many people, can be a huge turn off.

Minister Bartlett said, TPDCo was seeking to help in a cultural realignment to make those who sell their wares to visitors realize that badgering as a marketing strategy is not acceptable to everybody and there was a need “to engage more subtle marketing practices.”

He told the parish judges that “the visitor is not going to be terribly unhappy because of the cultural practices; what he’s going to be terribly unhappy about, is if he’s offended and he’s annoyed, and he’s even abused in the process, there seems to be no recourse. He feels that it falls on deaf ears when it becomes plain as day.”

Moreover, he stressed, even when action was taken, “They feel that the result of the action is way below acceptable standards.”

Minister Bartlett said everyone needed to see themselves as custodians of tourism and not just those directly involved in the sector, noting there was a need “for the country to better understand because there are people saying that tourism contributes little to the economy.”

Debunking that line of thinking, Minister Bartlett pointed out that last year the country recorded a near 2 percent growth and “tourism was the main performer and the highest contributor to the growth that we experienced.”

He said the sector now employed 117,000 workers directly, representing close to 10 percent of total national employment. Employment in the sector rose by 11,000 last year.

Also, last year, with a record-breaking 4.3 million visitors giving a 12.1 percent increase in visitor arrivals and US$.3 billion in earnings, there was a 6 percent increase by the sector to GDP, “and that was the largest of all sectors.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 12, 2018:  Efforts to boost cooperation between Jamaica and Mexico, in the area of tourism, will bear fruit as both countries will sign a memorandum of understanding to concretize a multi-destination marketing arrangement, in Madrid, Spain on January 16, 2018.

The move forms part of a greater plan to jointly market Jamaica to the international community this year, with other countries such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic, with whom similar arrangements have already been signed.  

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett shared that the arrangement will inevitably lead to sustainable growth and will be beneficial to all parties who will gain access to a significantly larger market.

“I am very happy that Jamaica will once again make history with this very important signing of an agreement with Mexico. I know that this will positively impact our economy. It is my hope that it will lead to other important milestones, such as the creation of new pre-clearance arrangements and perhaps relaxed visa restrictions,” said the Minister.

While in Spain, the Minister is also expected to participate in separate business meetings with the newly elected United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili, and tourism investors who own properties in Jamaica.

“I will be representing the country at the first meeting of the Executive Council of the UNWTO for 2018.  I will also get an opportunity to share how well our region is performing and naturally give a report on the success of our recently concluded UNWTO conference in Montego Bay to our new Secretary General,” said the Minister.

At the 22nd Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in September last year, Jamaica was successful in its bid to share one of the five seats on the Executive Council, that is allocated to the Regional Commission of the Americas for the period 2018-2021. Jamaica is expected to sit on the Executive Council for the period 2018 and 2019. 

Minister Bartlett, who will be accompanied by his junior advisor Gis’elle Jones, is scheduled to depart Jamaica tomorrow, January 13 and return on January 17, 2018. 

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Tuesday, January 9, 2018: Jamaica closed out its 2017 tourism year, shattering all previous records for the fast-growing industry.

“Last year was a signature year for growth in tourism; we ended the year with 4.3 million visitors coming to Jamaica. That wasn’t an ordinary record because it meant that nearly 500,000 more visitors came to Jamaica in a single year, which has never happened anywhere in this part of the Anglophobe Caribbean,” disclosed Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett today.

His remarks coincided with the signing of a US$40 million loan agreement between MBJ Airports Limited, operator of the Sangster International Airport and SIA, and Scotiabank to expand and upgrade some areas of the airport.

Minister Bartlett said last year’s growth in arrivals eclipsed the total increase of the previous four years. Also, foreign exchange earnings for the year reached approximately US$3 billion and “that means that even at a 30 percent retention, US$1 billion has been in circulation the pockets of Jamaicans as a result of the performance last year.”

He intimated that this contributed to the stability and appreciation of the Jamaican dollar.

As the growth trend continued into 2018, Minister Bartlett is elated that “the year has started with a bang; notwithstanding the freezing of the North and the closing of key airports in the whole North-eastern seaboard, which is the breadbasket for us, in our first week we had a 5.7 percent growth in arrivals.”

Noting that 37,000 of them came through the airport, Mr Bartlett attested that “the expansion for MBJ is very timely and we can’t wait as the Custom Halls and Immigration section are bursting at the seams and the traffic is heavy.”

Chief Executive Officer of MBJ Airports, Dr. Rafael Echevarne outlined that the loan would be invested in renovating the ticketing hall, rehabilitating airside pavements, installing new security machines, upgrade systems and acquire specialized equipment to clean the airport.

He disclosed that passenger traffic through the airport had grown from a low of minus 4.4 percent in 2009 to a positive 8.4 percent increase in 2017 which he described as “a spectacular year”. With as many as 8 international flights at any one time   “there are times when we struggle to find space to park the aircraft,” said Dr. Echevarne. He said it also put pressure on many of the government agencies, mainly immigration and customs, operating at the airport.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon Michael Henry said government was working assiduously to advance the aviation sector and underscored that with Sangster International being one of the largest airports in the region providing an experience to visitors, “it is important that we ensure that when they visit they want to come back.”

He spoke of transforming the airport to a world class facility while ensuring “that airports continued compliance to local and international standards of safety and aviation security.”

“With the expansion of the runway it will now be able to facilitate heavy aircraft, taking off from Montego Bay and able to reach as far as Turkey. The airport catchment area is also being increased as a result of the extend runway,” said Minister Henry.

Among those signing the US$40 million loan facility were President and Chief Executive Officer of Scotiabank, David Hall; Minister Henry, Dr. Echevarne and Director of Finance, MBJ Airports, Mrs Julian Ann Palmer.

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, Friday, December 15, 2017: The tourism industry started its traditional high season today shattering all previous records for arrivals by welcoming the four millionth visitor to Jamaica for the year.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett led a team of officials in a surprise welcome at Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport for Jill Bell of Wisconsin, USA, who with her husband Stephen has been to Jamaica 25 times.

At a VIP reception for the history-making visitor, Minister Bartlett said, “I’m very proud as minister today to be the fortunate one standing in the breach as the four millionth visitor graces the shores of this beautiful country.”

He disclosed that the four million visitors comprised 1.9 million cruise passengers and 2.1 million stop over tourists. Also, he said it was expected that the year would end with about 2.3 million stopovers and 2.1 million cruise arrivals combined, contributing just under US$3 billion to the economy.

Matched against last year’s arrival figures, nearly 500,000 new visitors will be travelling to Jamaica this year for a total of 4.3 million “and that is a record of all records,” said Minister Bartlett. Realization of these numbers would mean an 11.6 percent in arrivals and 11.7 percent increase in earnings over last year. He noted that Jamaica has been experiencing record arrivals since April with double-digit growth each succeeding month since then.

At the same time, the Tourism Minister said there would be 100,000 additional seats for the winter and 4,799 new rooms between now and 2019. “In the next few days, we will be concluding discussions with three major investors for ground-breaking activities that will happen in the first quarter of next year and the long-awaited Karisma development will in fact start construction in April of next year for the first three hotels with 2,500 rooms,” he said.

Minister Bartlett reiterated that Jamaica was building out the capacity of more of the small and medium enterprises to become involved in the tourism value chain because 80 percent of global tourism was driven by small and medium enterprises “and all of the people in Jamaica must feel a little more of the economic impact of tourism.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of MBJ Airports, Dr Rafael Echevarne said the four percent projected growth in passengers passing through the Sangster International Airport this year had doubled to eight percent. Also, he announced that the board recently approved expenditure of US$40 million for infrastructure improvements, including renovation of the ticketing area, the immigration hall and other public areas. This is in addition to the US$24 million now being spent to improve the apron and taxiway.

Mrs Bell assured that they would be back next year for another Christmas at “our home away from home; it’s our second home as we call it.” Expressing appreciation, she said, “You make us feel welcome and you are part of our family just as how we try to make you a part of our family.”