OCHO RIOS, Jamaica, Monday, December 11, 2017: On the eve of the country welcoming four million visitors for the first time in its history, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has declared 2017 to be “a dream year for Jamaica.”

“We’ve annexed all sorts of new horizons and frontiers; we’re going to make four million visitors this year and we’re going to earn in the region of US$3 billion,” he told top producing travel agents from the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom at Moon Palace Jamaica, Ocho Rios, Saturday night.  “It will be a truly historic moment for our tourism sector and I thank you for the role that you are playing in helping us to reach this important milestone and another record-breaking year in visitor arrivals," said Minister Bartlett.

The White Affair Gala recognized the top 50 travel agents who have booked visitors to Jamaica this year. Combined, they accounted for 130,000 rooms representing about US$39 million in business. They were treated over three days under the theme, “Fly Me To The Moon … Be Among The Stars.”

Minister Bartlett outlined to them a list of outstanding achievements by Jamaica and Jamaicans during 2017.  Among them, the legendary Usain Bolt retiring from an active career as the world’s greatest athlete; the staging of a high-profiled US college basketball tournament at an indoor facility here (Montego Bay Convention Centre) for the first time, giving Jamaica widespread international coverage; the hosting of the first ever global tourism conference on job creation and inclusive growth; and Jamaica’s Davina Bennett placing as second runner-up in the Miss Universe contest.

In other tourism developments, the Tourism Minister said he was pleased that Canadian market had recovered from having “slipped badly” by 17 percent, to record an 8 percent growth.  Also, “groups and conventions have taken off and we’re beginning to see something new and exciting in that area,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UK market is also showing growth and five of the top producing agents were among the awardees.

Minister Bartlett attributed Jamaica’s tourism success to strategic partnerships, adding, “Our year on year dynamic growth in arrivals is in large part due to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s excellent marketing performance and the diligent efforts of our travel partners, prime among them are you our travel agents.”

Underscoring “the invaluable role” many of them have played in sustaining Jamaica’s tourism industry, Minister Bartlett referenced the importance of technology in connecting people and enhancing experiences but stressed that tourism was all about the human touch and artificial intelligence would never replace the warmth of human intelligence.

Informing the travel agents and partners that “we need you,” Minister Bartlett assured them, “You are always going to be here, you are always going to be needed and you are always going to be at the centre of the whole tourism development irrespective of what happens.”

Lindsey Johnson of Tropics Travel Agency LLC emerged in first place this year among the top 50 leading booking agents. Joining her in the top ten were Donna Daniels (Fox Travel American Express), Michelle Wiseman (Toms Tours), Anthony Tucker (All Inclusive Outlet), Sharon Little (Wedding and Honeymoon Travel Group), Darlene Rhoden (The Travel Net Inc.), Marlene Johnson (MJ Travel Group), David Parker (All The way Travel), Kimberly Felix (Honeymoons Inc.), Mark Henngan (Dreamer’s Travel) and William “Bill” Munroe (Barrhead Travel).

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; November 30, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett yesterday (November 29, 2017) announced Canadian university, Ryerson, as the first-ever winner of the Jamaica Community Tourism Innovation Challenge Award.

He revealed the winners at a special awards ceremony, on the final day of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Government of Jamaica World Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, which took place at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“What is great about this challenge is that it is a win-win for all involved, as Jamaica benefits from this increased exposure of our island among an age group that is adventurous and open to new experiences, while raising awareness among students of issues surrounding sustainable tourism for development,” said Minister Bartlett.

The competition was organised as one of the Ministry of Tourism’s activities to celebrate the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and was a partnership with the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies.

It was open to university students from across the globe, and required them to develop a marketing campaign strategy that would encourage other students to visit Jamaica and experience the country’s community-based tourism attractions.

“The student traveller represents fully one-fifth of all international arrivals in the travel industry today. They command a market value of some US$320 billion and they are willing to spend to create experiences; so you see the value of this demographic. So the development of this global initiative was therefore, a very strategic marketing move which allowed us to tap into this very important market,” said the Minister.

‎Executive Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at The George Washington University School of Business, Seleni Matus, applauded the Ministry of Tourism for providing university students with the opportunity to apply their classroom learning to help solve a real world challenge and to understand how sustainable tourism is being used by governments to support the Sustainable Development Goals.

Speaking at the awards ceremony Matus went on to explain that “The challenge put out a call to over 100 universities around the world to really offer innovations on how to effectively promote community-based tourism here in Jamaica. It would follow the fantastic work that team tourism here in Jamaica has been doing. We had 46 innovative teams join and from that we selected five finalists.”

The UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism’ was an official event of the United Nations’ International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017, which gathered 1500 participants and over 150 speakers in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Wednesday, November 29, 2017: Prime Minister Andrew Holness has given an unqualified commitment to the development of tourism in Jamaica.

Underscoring the importance of tourism to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, Prime Minister Holness said, “We must pivot our tourism growth strategies in line with the key areas that the United Nations International Year for Sustainable Tourism promotes.”

He was delivering the keynote address at yesterday’s opening session of the 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 Center.

Among the key areas highlighted by the Prime Minister were: Inclusive and sustainable growth, social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction, resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change, cultural values, diversity and heritage, mutual understanding, peace and security.

Prime Minister Holness suggested to the over 1400 delegates who had registered by day two of the three-day conference that tourism-dependent states should give critical consideration to how the industry’s product must adapt and evolve to reflect the new realities of today. Those considerations should include: climate change; evolving tourist preferences, in particular, how to treat with the new millennials; terrorism, travel and safety security concerns; as well as new and emerging markets, products and technology.

He underlined that respect was due to tourism “as an industry that has contributed so significantly to our economies” and, as a result of tourism, “we can teach our people to respect our environment and heritage as natural assets.”

Prime Minister Holness outlined several projects being undertaken to improve infrastructure, noting that when local lives were allowed to be better for the citizens they then create the product, the experience (and) the authenticity that brings the visitor.

“The Government of Jamaica continues to take concrete steps to expand our tourism product and to create more opportunities that will improve the livelihood of Jamaicans,” he told his international audience.

The Prime Minister further reinforced that tourism enabled local communities to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth and besides its direct contribution to jobs, “tourism’s multiplier effect on related sectors such as training, agriculture, manufacturing and construction further amplifies its employment impact.”

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett who has been the main force behind the staging of the global conference in Jamaica, said the country was a model of sustainable tourism and reminded that the conference emerged out of a meeting to bring together stakeholders with the common goal of achieving good, sustainable jobs, inclusive growth and sustainable development. He said the world had come to recognize that these goals could be achieved through tourism.

Minister Bartlett pointed to the need for greater loan support to tourism, in particular to the small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 80 percent of the industry.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; November 29, 2017: Jamaica’s Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with international sustainable tourism NGO, the Travel Foundation, during the UN World Tourism Organisation’s Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism being held in Montego Bay.

The agreement establishes a framework of cooperation and collaboration which will support both organisations to work more closely on sustainable tourism initiatives in Jamaica. Their partnership will focus on increasing local economic benefits from tourism, for instance by supporting craft markets and other tourist attractions to make changes to their practices, and by encouraging visitors to explore outside their hotels.

It will build on their existing partnership, which recently launched a Warm Welcome campaign for Montego Bay. As part of the campaign, a team of trained Resort Ambassadors has been created to help visitors get the most out of Montego Bay during their stay.  Initially comprised of frontline hotel staff, and soon to be joined by contract carriage drivers and district constables, Warm Welcome Resort Ambassadors will receive training and resources so that they can confidently impart insider ‘top tips’ that help promote the best of the local area.

Dr. Andrew Spencer, Executive Director of TPDCo, said, “The Warm Welcome campaign is about utilizing our greatest asset — the passion all Jamaicans have for their place of home — and sharing this with our guests. And by encouraging people to explore beyond their hotels, local businesses and traders are more likely to benefit from the tourist spend. We intend to roll-out this best practice approach to visitor engagement in other resorts across Jamaica, with the Travel Foundation’s support.”

The Travel Foundation’s CEO, Salli Felton, said, “We know that we can achieve so much more by working with TPDCo. Their commitment and drive to build the capacity of the Jamaican people, creating new opportunities from tourism that can improve their quality of life, matches our own sustainability ethos. As well as sharing our knowledge and expertise on the Warm Welcome campaign, we’ll also be working with TPDCo to build capacity for craft traders to meet international visitor demand and support tourist attractions to improve their practices and meet sustainability criteria.”

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.