Tourism Minister Reports Growth in Arrivals, Earnings
By: , June 24, 2016The Key Point:
Photo: Donald Delahaye
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (head of table), addresses the inaugural meeting of the Tourism Competitiveness Taskforce at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices on June 23. The Taskforce forms part of the Ministry’s drive to reposition tourism to generate higher growth rates in both visitor arrivals and earnings.The Facts
- He said there were 1. 7 million visitors to the island representing a 6.7 per cent increase over the same period last year, with a 4.9 per cent growth in earnings at $1.1 billion.
- He informed that new marketing programmes will be developed specifically for Canada, which has seen fallout in arrivals.
The Full Story
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is reporting growth in visitor arrivals and earnings up to May 2016.
He said there were 1. 7 million visitors to the island representing a 6.7 per cent increase over the same period last year, with a 4.9 per cent growth in earnings at $1.1 billion.
Mr. Bartlett was addressing the inaugural meeting of the Tourism Competitiveness Taskforce at the Ministry’s offices in New Kingston on June 23.
He said programmes will be put in place to boost stopover visitors.
“This is an area that we have had to push and part of that reason too is that we have a number of rooms that are being refurbished now,” he noted.
He informed that new marketing programmes will be developed specifically for Canada, which has seen fallout in arrivals.
The Tourism Competitiveness Taskforce is chaired by Josef Forstmayr. Other members include Godfrey Dyer, Jennifer Griffith, Paul Pennicook, Major General Stewart Saunders, Jennifer McDonald, Audley Deidrick, Raafael Echevarne, Major Richard Reese, Omar Robinson, and a representative from the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
The taskforce forms part of the Ministry’s drive to reposition tourism to generate higher growth rates in both visitor arrivals and earnings.