MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Tuesday, November 28, 2017: As the Caribbean looks to grow its tourism market, a senior executive of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has urged the region to look to Asia as its next frontier.

UNWTO’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Xi Jing, himself an Asian, yesterday outlined the tremendous potential of the market, especially targeting millennials with strong spending power. He was making a special presentation to participants attending the Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

He advised the tourism leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to “start thinking about Asia in addition to your decades of thinking about Europe, your long time of thinking about America and about Latin America.” Mr Xi Jing presented facts on outbound Chinese travel to reinforce his argument that Asia presented itself as the next source market for the Caribbean.

Overall, he said, there were 1,235 million international arrivals around the world and already Asia and the Pacific were taking 25 percent of the market with the goal of reaching 30 percent by the year 2020. On top of that, he noted, in 2016 while other regions were showing a growth rate of 3.9 percent, the Asia and pacific region was way ahead with a 9 percent growth rate.

In monetary terms, looking at the tourist spend, the Asia-Pacific region was spending 40 percent of the world’s tourism expenditure with much of it remaining within the region. But from the Asian countries alone, China spent 21 percent of the entire world’s tourism expenditure. “On a year-to-year basis, we’re talking about 120 to 130 million Chinese outbound travellers to the rest of the world,” he stated.

Mr Xi Jing pinpointed the eastern coast of China, including Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities as the area of concentration for Chinese outbound travel and where Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean must target. “This is the area where per capita GDP is around US$10,000 and generated 32 percent of Chinese travellers around the world, he said.

However, he explained that while now only six percent of the Chinese population had a passport, compared to 40 percent of people of the United States, the Chinese did not need a visa to come to Jamaica; however, this was not well known.

Taking a look at Chinese demographics, Mr Xi Jing said “baby boomers” were estimated to be 219 million by 2030 and preferred long distances and travelled for a longer time, while “millennials” would reach 414 million with 31 percent of the population being technologically savvy and wanted to be treated differently. They were also better at speaking English and it was important to utilise their preferred digital platform in marketing as the typical western system would not work with them.

Most Chinese now travel to neighbouring countries but the United States beckoned as their next destination. Mr Xi Jing said the US received 2.6 million Chinese visitors and 10 million visited the European Continent in 2016. Florida alone received 300,000. Their preferred periods of travel were end of January to beginning of February and the beginning of October.

In the Caribbean, Cuba with 40,000, has the highest number of Chinese visitors with Jamaica coming in second with 3,899. Mr Xi Jing has suggested that the Caribbean and Jamaica, in particular, could attract many more by changing mind-set on how to penetrate the market and doing away with certain stereotypes about the Chinese.

He also recommended Jamaica increasing facilitation to carry over Chinese travellers from the American market, offering more Chinese friendly services and highlighting the unique Caribbean culture.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Monday, November 27, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett kicked off the much anticipated UNWTO global conference on jobs and inclusive growth with a call for greater partnerships among Caribbean tourism destinations.

“The growth agenda for the Caribbean tourism sector must be people-centered and aligned with broader national economic and social imperatives.  It is important that Caribbean states understand that sustainable tourism must mean inclusive growth that will expand economic benefits to local populations; in the process helping to move people’s lives from poverty to prosperity,” said Minister Bartlett in his opening remarks.

Over 1300 persons from 60 countries are participating in the three-day UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James.

Minister Bartlett said the tourism sector must not only generate prosperity and wealth for large hotel owners and service providers but also help to preserve the natural and cultural resources of the islands; strengthen linkages with other sectors of the economy, particularly the agricultural and manufacturing sectors; strengthen the benefits derived from the industry by local residents and communities; and promote broader participation by all Caribbean nationals.

With “The Future of Caribbean Tourism: Sustainability and Resilience” as the theme of his address, Minister Bartlett said, “The question of sustainability is an even more urgent concern for tourism-dependent small island states, like those in the Caribbean, that face disproportionately greater risks due to their sizes, geographical location and lack of economic diversification.”

He pointed to an international shift from traditional tourism and added, “The Caribbean tourism sector must position itself to tap into these emergent markets that constitute the future of global tourism.”

Minister Bartlett suggested that other means of enhancing the competitiveness of the region’s tourism sector would be “for us to enter into discussions with several airlines and tour companies to discuss the way forward in terms of possibly introducing new locations to their Caribbean itineraries.”

The region must also aggressively target promising markets in South America, Europe, Asia “and even promote more seriously the idea of intra-regional tourism,” said Minister Bartlett. At the same time, the region must also tap into a vibrant Caribbean Diaspora in source markets such as Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom to encourage expatriates to return home more often, he added.

Minister Bartlett also underscored the need to look into the feasibility of multi-destination arrangements that will increase intra-regional tourist flows and promote mutual benefits for more destinations in the region.

“As we explore opportunities in multi-destination tourism, we must also seek regional cooperation in related areas such as aviation and airlift strategies to move seamlessly within the region, visa facilitation and access to each other’s destinations, as well as pre-clearance arrangements,” he posited.

Turning to the conference, which he noted was the first of its kind in the Caribbean, Minister Bartlett described it as a monumental event attracting global policymakers and leaders in tourism from across the world, several international agencies of the United Nations as well as large delegation of local stakeholders.

Over the next three days a wide range of issues related to the resilience and sustainability of global tourism will discussed under the theme “Building Private-Public Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism for Development.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 8, 2017: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett yesterday announced that Jamaica now has once-weekly nonstop flight service from Poland.

The charter flight operated by TUI, the world’s largest tour operator, will depart from Poland's capital city of Warsaw every Tuesday, at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Montego Bay at 3:20 p.m., with flight duration of over 10 hours using a Boeing 767 aircraft with 279 seats. The first flight arrived at Sangster International Airport yesterday (November 7).

Minister Bartlett, who made the announcement from London, where he is on official business, shared that, “Our European market strategies are bearing fruit. We are systematically building out key markets with the aim of achieving our growth targets. Many of the Polish people enjoy Jamaican culture, especially reggae music and we want ensure they can get here as quickly and seamlessly as possible.”

With a population of 38 million, an expanding middle class and a growing economy, local tourism industry stakeholders are keen on seeing the market further develop over the coming year.

The Minister’s Senior Advisor and Strategist, Delano Seiveright also shared that “TUI started direct service from Poland late last year with a stop in the Dominican Republic. We have seen a tripling in the number of Polish tourists since then moving from around 900 between January and September of last year to around 2,700 for the same period this year. Now with this nonstop service we are looking at even stronger growth going forward.”

The Minister and a high-level team from the Jamaica Tourist Board held meetings with TUI in Berlin, Germany, in March of this year to discuss the further expansion across continental Europe. He will further these discussions later this week when he heads to Berlin.

Pointing to the broader growth strategies of the Ministry and its agencies, Seiveright stated that they are placing significant focus on increased airlift, rebuilding the Canadian market, boosting numbers out of the USA and Europe, enhanced collaboration with cruise operators, the building out of new rooms and enhancing relationships with non-traditional players like Airbnb.  In addition, the Ministry is driving the development of the linkages networks, in part aimed at enhancing product offerings and experiences and spreading the benefits of tourism deeper into the Jamaica economy.

The new flights from Poland have been welcomed openly by tour operators, some of whom believe that it will increase retention of the tourism dollar in Jamaica while exposing our culture to a new market.

Managing Director of Bird Pepper Tours, Maxine Gawron shared that, “'I'm glad that Jamaica is only one flight away and many more Poles will be able to experience firsthand this fabulous island for themselves. Despite speaking a different language and being culturally different it doesn't take long to realize that our countries hospitality is very similar and we have more in common that we think.”

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, November 7, 2017: A $14.5 million donation from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has enabled the Montego Bay Community College to upgrade and outfit its Hospitality, Housekeeping and Dining Room laboratories to world standards.

The financial commitment was made through the TEF initiated Centres of Excellence programme, which prepares students from participating schools for meaningful employment in the local tourism sector.

The upgraded laboratories, officially handed over by TEF Executive Director Dr. Carey Wallace last week, replicate high standards of equipment and service in the hospitality industry to ensure students are adequately trained for employment in the various sectors of the tourism industry upon completion of their course of study in Tourism and Hospitality at the college. 

Training is offered at the standards of the Bachelor of Science and Associate Degrees in Hospitality & Tourism Management, Certificate and Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts, Associate Degree in Clothing & Fashion, and Associate Degree in Spa & Salon Management.

In pursuit of their academic goals, over 200 students at the colleges Montego Bay and Frome campuses are utilizing the laboratories which provide world-class training consistent with national and international hospitality and tourism industry standards.

Speaking to the importance of developing the human capital, Dr Wallace implored students to recognize the potential they had inside them and make good use of the facilities in pursuit of their development.  “We at TEF provide you with the resources through funding of the facilities to afford you the creative development, but there is something else that’s inside of you that will make all the difference,” he said.

Dr Wallace said TEF’s support to the Montego Bay Community College’s Hospitality Center of Excellence was in keeping with its commitment to supporting development that fostered sustainability and growth of tourism and he commending the College on its achievements over the past 40 years. “You’ve made such a contribution to the development of our young people and you’ve grown over the years, just as tourism as a sector is growing and is now the number one contributor to GDP,” he noted.

Principal Dr. Maureen Nelson expressed “heartfelt gratitude” to TEF on behalf of the Board of Management, staff and students, noting, “Truly, the Montego Bay Community College is blessed by this significant partnership as you have ably facilitated our mission of providing excellent multi-disciplinary tertiary level instruction in western Jamaica and beyond.”

She further noted, “Your mandate of promoting growth and sustainable development in the tourism sector significantly contributes to the economic transformation of Jamaica and the Montego Bay Community College is committed to this goal.”

Vice Principal Carol Walters, in giving an overview of the project, said the TEF support came at a time when “the faculty could do with all the help we could get because our facilities really needed to be upgraded.” She gave an assurance that all the money was well spent and an undertaking that all the supplies procured from the grant would be protected.

The TEF has invested some $110 million in 15 Centers of Excellence to facilitate skills training in subject areas that prepare students for employment in the tourism industry.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 6, 2017: In recognition of its 25th anniversary and pointing to its contribution to the increasing diversification of Jamaica’s tourism product, Delano Seiveright, Senior Advisor/Strategist to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, highlighted that the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Tourism and its lead agency the Jamaica Tourist Board, will continue to support Rebel Salute, a major annual Rastafari-influenced live music show held in January along the North Coast.

Seiveright was guest speaker at the official launch of Rebel Salute’s 25th show in New York City Thursday evening, on behalf of the Tourism Minister, who is in London of official business. Patrick ‘Tony Rebel’ Barrett, Director of Rebel Salute noted that Rebel Salute delivers the greatest roots reggae show in the world.

Starting out as a concert to celebrate Tony Rebel’s birthday, Rebel Salute has evolved into a major calendar stage show, capturing roots reggae lovers worldwide. The festival serves a strict Rastafari-influenced menu and is notably a non-alcoholic event drawing thousands of patrons at each staging.

Seiveright pointed out that, “Rebel Salute continues to draw Jamaicans and tourists alike in one place to celebrate reggae music in one place. Rastafari and reggae music are the backbone of Jamaican culture, the backbone of our tourism product. Tourism is in strong growth mode and more and more visitors want varied experiences and to ensure that that growth is sustained we need more events like Rebel Salute.”

He went on to state that, “One of our main strategies for achieving sustainable tourism is by promoting the sector as a catalyst for cultural preservation and enrichment. Recent international tourism trends have pointed to a shift from the traditional 'sun, sea and sand' phenomenon towards interactive experiential tourism, one of tourism's fastest growing sub-sectors, appealing to markets interested in gastronomy, nature, heritage and cultural experiences like Rebel Salute.”

Preliminary figures up to the end of September 2017 shows Jamaica welcoming over 3 million tourists, with stopover arrivals of 1.76 million and cruise passengers numbering 1.3 million cruise passengers, well ahead of the corresponding period last year. This resulted in just over US$2.14 billion in gross foreign exchange earnings, 8.6 percent higher the corresponding period last year.

Credit has been given the Bartlett led aggressive growth initiatives – with significant focus on increased airlift, rebuilding the Canadian market, boosting numbers out of Western Europe, closer collaboration with cruise operators, the building out of new rooms, enhancing relationships with non-traditional players like Airbnb and driving the development of the linkages network in part aimed at enhancing product offerings and experiences.

“Minister Bartlett wants to ensure that tourists visiting Jamaica will not only get an opportunity to partake in local culture and heritage but will also develop a profound appreciation and respect for it. Many ordinary citizens will also benefit as they will get increased opportunities to showcase and market their cultural and creative products and services to visitors,” said Seiveright

He indicated that the impact of promoting cultural tourism will not only be economic but also have a social impact. He noted that Bartlett, through the Entertainment Network of his Ministry’s Linkages Network and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange are at one on pushing harder in this direction with the full collaboration with people like Tony Rebel and events like Rebel Salute.

Seiveright also stated the Linkages Network in the Ministry of Tourism, chaired by Businessman Adam Stewart, is generating unprecedented collaboration between the public and private sectors and contributing to the enhanced appeal and sustainable growth of Jamaica’s tourism sector.

Rebel Salute takes place on January 12 and 13 at the Richmond Estate in Priory, St. Ann.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 6, 2017 A mere five months after inaugurating daily non-stop flight-service between Fort Lauderdale and Montego Bay, Southwest, a major US airline, recently upped its operations to include two daily flights between both cities. Thereby adding another 52,000 new seats over the in and out of Jamaica and increasing connectivity to other US cities.

The additional Southwest flight numbered 1112 departs Fort Lauderdale 9:10 a.m. every morning and the return flight numbered 1113 departs Montego Bay every morning at 11:50 a.m.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett noted that, “Southwest is a major partner that has grown leaps and bounds. In the quest to drive arrivals and to build up economic growth and prosperity in our country, air lift forms the central infrastructure. There is no way the connectivity can be realized without carefully planned and properly executed air lift arrangements.”

Southwest is the world's largest low-cost carrier already operating regular non-stop service into Montego Bay from Orlando, Florida; Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland.

Senior Advisor and Strategist at the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright noted that, “We are now at up to 7 flights per day by Southwest into Montego Bay. More new flights, more new rooms, closer collaboration with cruise operators, enhancing relationships with non-traditional players like Airbnb and of course deepening linkages across entertainment, gastronomy, health and wellness and other areas are among the lead initiatives being pursued to achieve Bartlett’s tourism growth goals.”  

Southwest Airlines Vice-President, Ellen Tolbert said earlier, “We continue with our [policies]: bags fly free, no change fees ever, free refreshments and television on your own devices provided by our in-flight satellite WIFI and worldwide hospitality. But most of all it’s our people – our people who keep you coming back and that keep the 120 million people annually coming back to Southwest Airlines.”

Minister Bartlett is currently in London on official business.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 03, 2017: In his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS) and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has been invited to give an address at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.

Minister Bartlett, who departed the island yesterday (November 02, 2017), will use the platform at the ITCMS to share the measures being implemented to increase resiliency in the sector. A major part of this is the creation of the Tourism Rehabilitation Action Plan for the Caribbean islands recently devastated by natural disasters.

 “The Caribbean remains united in rebuilding our tourism sector to its former glory. In fact, my Ministry is working very closely with the international and regional organizations as well as other Ministers within the Caribbean to create a working strategy to strengthen the sector’s resilience to the effects of climate change and natural disaster, thus making it more sustainable,” said the Minister. 

According to organisers of the ITCMS, the session aims to show the global way entities deal with crisis management and how indigenous components play a role in proactively addressing crises. It is intended to be a thought-leadership session, which should connect and inform the delegates.

Prior to his participation in the summit, the Minister will attend the 2017 World Travel Market (WTM) – the leading global business-to-business event for the travel industry.  While there, he will have key meetings with stakeholders as well as media entities such as the BBC, Travel Weekly, TTG Luxury, Globetrotter TV, and Travel Daily Media.

In addition to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s promotional activities, this year’s programme of the WTM will feature a UNWTO and WTM Ministers’ Summit entitled “Overtourism: Growth is not the Enemy, It is How We Manage It.” There will also be a Ministers’ Destination Investment Symposium, which will provide an exclusive meeting point for Ministers and investors in travel destination development.

Minister Bartlett later travels to Berlin, Germany, to meet with high-level stakeholders and attend the Touristik Union International (TUI) Group’s Anniversary Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

TUI is the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world and owns travel agencies, hotels, airlines, cruise ships and retail stores. TUI has also been helping to drive significant tourist arrivals out of the European market to Jamaica.

The Minister will be accompanied by the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board, John Lynch; Manager of Airlift at Jamaica Vacations Limited, Geraldine Wright and his Junior Advisor, Gis’elle Jones.  He returns to the island on November 12, 2017.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; November 1, 2017: As Jamaica puts the finishing touches to a broad-based plan to host the world’s first global conference on “jobs and inclusive growth: partnerships for sustainable tourism’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett announced yesterday (October 31) that over 300 participants from 60 countries have  already registered to attend the November event.

He made the announcement at a press conference at the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry to update Western Jamaica on the progress the UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, to be held November 27-29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“This global conference will position Jamaica as a destination that has the capacity to do big events and to do them well,” said Minister Bartlett.  With exactly four weeks to the opening of the three-day conference, the Tourism Minister is satisfied that all the elements have come together as scheduled and are now being fine-tuned for “the most ambitious project that we have undertaken as a Ministry of Tourism ever.”

With the islands of the Caribbean being some of the most tourism dependent in the world, the conference has been positioned to speak to making the industry more impactful on the economies of the region. Minister Bartlett said consideration must be given to making these countries stronger as a result of tourism and move away from being among the most indebted in the world with an average debt to GDP ratio that is close to 100 percent.

Minister Bartlett posited that “this conference is going to redefine Destination Jamaica as the centre where the world can come on an annual basis to cerebrate on matters relating to the development of tourism, but more importantly, to help to build out a strategy for job creation and inclusive growth.”

Among a list of high profiled speakers confirmed for the conference are President of the Dominican Republic, His Excellency Danilo Medina; Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Hon Andrew Holness; Vice President for Countries, Inter-American Development Bank, Alexandre Rosa; Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro; CEO of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, James Scriven; President and  CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council  (WTTC), Gloria Guevara Manzo and  UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

Also slated to play dominant roles in the conference are the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Chemonics International, the George Washington University and the University of the West Indies.

Technology will get special attention with a “Smart Tourism Destinations” exposition involving several major entities demonstrating how big data is transforming the future of tourism and creating a seamless visitor experiences.

There will be four plenary sessions looking at various aspects of tourism, such as the make-up of successful replicable collaboration models for growth and development; the direct contributions of tourism enterprises to the development of the destination; financing large, medium and small  scale tourism development; and donor-funded programmes “which demonstrate balanced growth with environmental sustainability and social inclusion.”

The deliberations will form the basis of the Montego Bay Declaration from which will flow an action plan for tourism destinations to follow. It will also inform the publication of the second volume of the UNWTO Global Report on Public Private Partnerships.  

With memories of recent hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, there will also be focus on climate change and recovery strategies.

Some special features of the conference will be the honouring of outgoing UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai and three outstanding leaders in tourism as well as an exposé of Jamaican gastronomic delights to a select group of invited international gastronomes.

KINGSTON, Jamaica: October 30, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has commissioned the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network (TLN) to increase consumption of coffee locally by strengthening ties between stakeholders in the coffee and hospitality industries.

The charge was made following a recent meeting led by Chairman of the Tourism Linkages Council Adam Stewart with the key stakeholders in the coffee industry. During the meeting, the group discussed the challenges the stakeholders face locally and strategies that can be developed by the Ministry of Tourism to better leverage the product.

“Under the leadership of our Chairman, I know that we can do so much more to celebrate and build out products around the Jamaica Blue Mountain (JBM) coffee, so that it can continue to be a tool to bring more visitors to Jamaica and earn more money for our people. I therefore charge the Linkages Network to get more of our coffee to every visitor who graces our shores and to share our expertise to leverage the JBM coffee,” said the Minister.

In 2016, Minister Bartlett appointed the Gastronomy Network, a subgroup of the TLN, to promote and offer support to Jamaican cuisine, under which the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee falls. The Network, which is chaired by Nicola Madden-Greig, has placed special focus on the coffee industry with projects such as the Blue Mountain Culinary Trail launching earlier this year and the upcoming Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, scheduled for early 2018.

“The Festival and our other culinary projects offer us an opportunity for deepening the linkages between tourism and the agro-processing industry while strengthening the hand of our sales teams in the markets of the world and opening up opportunities for our people to benefit in a direct way from their participation in the tourism experience,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival will be a three-day event in the Blue Mountain region. It is expected to feature activities such as training and development seminars for coffee farmers; coffee farm and factory tours; culinary tours and experiences; and a coffee exhibition. International coffee buyers will also be invited to attend the festival.

“I want us to build a coffee experience like no other for our visitors and locals to enjoy. It is my vision to bring thousands of visitors annually to destination Jamaica to experience the gastronomy tourism as we utilize various elements of it that are endemic to different geographic areas. What better start than our famous JBM coffee, which is synonymous with Brand Jamaica?” said Minister Bartlett.

He also noted that a key part of the strategy being developed is to ensure that more of the earnings from the industry are retained locally to aid in increasing the productivity level of coffee. 

“Not only do food festivals attract visitors, thus stimulating tourism, but they also promote growth and create more business opportunities for people in the communities.  Currently 30 per cent of every dollar is retained and it is expected to improve to 40 per cent, bringing the country closer to the projections of US$2 billion in net earnings by 2020. However, in order for us to see greater retention of the tourism dollars, we have to own more of the consumption side of tourism and build the capacity of our people to deliver on the experience,” he said.

The TLN is a division within the tourism ministry, which was developed to increase the consumption of goods and services that can be competitively sourced locally, while also generating and retaining the country’s foreign exchange earning potential.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 25, 2017: The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has announced their endorsement of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) global conference to be held in Jamaica in November.

Adam Goldstein, who is the FCCA’s Executive Committee Chairman and current President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, gave the endorsement to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, during a private meeting between Presidents and CEOs of  FCCA member lines and Ministers of Tourism, on October 25 in Merida, Mexico.

During the meeting, the group also discussed strategies to drive year-round traffic to the region, the creation of more employment opportunities and the development of strategic partnerships.

Minister Bartlett lauded the endorsement, which, he noted, strengthens the expected impact the conference will have on the development of tourism industries across the globe.

“This event will perhaps be the single most important conference in our country’s history. This endorsement by FCCA strengthens our efforts to coordinate an international road map which will foster collaborative relationships for more inclusive economic and social development of countries across the world via tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

He also received support for the staging of the conference from Grenada’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon. Yolande Bain-Horsford, who is expected to participate in the conference.

In his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS)  and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean, the Minister used the opportunity to share his intentions to create a tourism rehabilitation plan for Caribbean islands devastated by recent hurricanes at the upcoming conference.

“Caribbean states are very dependent on tourism to sustain their economies. So with the assistance of the UNWTO, CHTA, CTO and WTTC as well as Ministers of the region we are working on creating a strategy to strengthen the sector’s resilience to the effects of climate change and natural disasters, thus making it more sustainable. We will unveil this plan of action during our upcoming UNWTO global conference in Montego Bay in November,” he explained.

The UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism’ will be held November 27-29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James, and is expected to attract hundreds of international and local participants.

The event will bring together world leaders from the tourism industry along with governments, donors, and international development and finance organisations to design and coordinate an international road map and foster collaborative relationships for inclusive economic and social development via tourism.

Minister Bartlett is currently in Mexico with the newly-appointed Executive Director of Jamaica Vacations Ltd, Joy Roberts, participating in the FCCA Cruise Conference and Tradeshow. They are expected to return to the island on October 26, 2017.