JAMAICA: Minister Looking To Increase Visitor Arrivals

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says he is looking to surpass the five per cent growth target over five years, which he has set for the sector.

He said that work being undertaken through the Tourism Linkages Network to develop initiatives in sports and entertainment, shopping, knowledge, health and wellness, and gastronomy, will position the sector to exceed the mark.

“It is through the linkages that we are going to be able to get the economic penetration... and supply on the demand that tourism provides (and) creates, by increasing the numbers of visitors who come,” he contended.

Bartlett was speaking at last week’s media launch for the 2016 Tourism Outlook Seminar at Devon House in St Andrew.

Starting in 2017, the minister is looking to increase visitor arrivals to five million per year, moving earnings to US$5 billion.

He said that while the target is his immediate focus “it’s not my ultimate goal for growth”.

Bartlett said the Tourism Linkages Council under the chairmanship of Sandals Resorts Chief Executive Officer, Adam Stewart, has been doing a “good job”, so far, in creating new and exciting growth areas.

“We have built out five networks to support the five pillars of growth, and the leaders of those networks have been working very hard,” he said.

The five growth pillars include tapping into new markets, developing new products, promoting investment, building new partnerships, and human capital renewal.

“Jamaica is poised for great things and, in fact, is congealing into a key centre for global tourism. I am determined that the partnership that must subsist to enable the capacity to supply on the demand of tourism, will be had,” Bartlett underscored.

The Tourism Outlook Seminar will take place from December 6 to 8 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The event will be jointly staged by the Ministry of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board, and United National World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), under the theme ‘Navigating Global Challenges for Continued Growth’.

JAMAICA: An All-inclusive Destination,

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says the Government is looking at lands in south-western Jamaica for the establishment of a health and wellness centre to enhance the tourism product.

Speaking at the opening of the Caribbean Cannabis Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, in St James, on Friday, the minister said the area being explored is in the corridor from Negril (Westmoreland) to Black River (St Elizabeth).

“I believe this will provide a very useful geographic space for us to consider a new destination in Jamaica and a destination that will be characterised by health and wellness spas, and cannabis products,” he said.

The minister said Jamaica is now at a stage of building out the area of wellness tourism, which will further add to the island’s position as a destination with a difference.

Bartlett noted that a Health and Wellness Network has been established in the Ministry of Tourism, which has been tasked with the responsibility of defining the policy that will provide the framework within which the cannabis-infused health and wellness experience will be a reality in Jamaica.

He said while Jamaica has been largely characterised as being an all-inclusive destination, there is room for other types of product offerings.

“We can do a level of product diversification which would enable us to be attractive to all demographics… and what we have seen is that cannabis-infused experiences have added much to health and wellness,” the minister said.

He said proof of the success of the cannabis-infused experience can be seen in Amsterdam and Colorado.

Bartlett said the Ministry of Tourism has been leading a process to ascertain how the country can benefit more from the industry, while building more unique experiences.

JAMAICA: Cuba Brings New Tourism Opportunities For Jamaica And Caribbean

Jamaica's tourism minister says heightened interest in Cuba will bring opportunities for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

Addressing the newly appointed directors of the boards of key agencies of the tourism ministry on the weekend at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, Edmund Bartlett notes that Cuba is strategically positioned to help in the growth of tourism in the Caribbean and that it will be beneficial for Jamaica.

The interest in Cuba, he says, should play a key role in enabling the region to secure better airlift arrangements with airlines and facilitate multi-destination marketing in the region.

In addition, Bartlett says Government will be tapping into new markets, developing new products, promoting investment, building new partnerships and renewing human capital to improve the industry.

He says the Government hopes to earn more than US$3 billion from the US$7.2 trillion global tourism market. The tourism minister says the US and Canada markets will be aggressively targeted to grow market share.

Bartlett says although foreign direct investment will be pursued to establish large hotels, the tourism ministry will also be focusing heavily on convincing Jamaicans to invest in the industry.

He says this could be achieved by providing services, developing attractions and transforming small hotels and private homes to meet the needs of special needs travellers and other groups.