Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett departed the island this morning for Miami, Florida, to lead Jamaica’s delegation at Seatrade Cruise Global 2024, the cruise industry’s premier annual event. The conference, which runs from April 8-11, is expected to draw over 10,000 attendees and more than 600 exhibitors. It serves as a critical platform for stakeholders to engage on the...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has emphasised the importance of Jamaica’s Tourism Strategy and Action Plan (TSAP) in generating the stakeholder capacity to respond to the industry’s new architecture. The TSAP, being executed through a partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is geared towards boosting socio-economic development and investment, building the local tourism industry’s resilience to climate change and...

As visitor arrivals continue to grow, the Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is highlighting the need to increase the production of goods and supplies to meet the growing demand in the sector. “A great demand is on us. The demand for agricultural goods, for manufactured goods, for services of all types is now escalating but the supply is an issue,”...

The Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is exploring ways to expand the reach of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival. In an interview with JIS News at the seventh staging of the festival, held recently in Newcastle, St. Andrew, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said there have been talks about expanding to different locations. “We've...

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), under a partnership with the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), will provide $500 million to fund housing for tourism workers who live in substandard conditions. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday (March 21). “This is a...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the generation of ideas is key to driving continuous changes that facilitate the constant emergence of innovations in the local hospitality industry. “Ideas are what drive tourism. Tourism doesn’t happen with repeating business activities on a daily basis; [it] grows because there are changes. [Where] there is innovation, there is value added,” Mr. Bartlett...

More than 150 buyer companies and 1,000 delegates are expected to convene in Montego Bay for the 42nd staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace from May 20 to 23. Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday (March 14), at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in New Kingston, President, CHTA, Nicola Madden-Greig, said a special...

Jamaica welcomed one million visitors and generated tourism earnings of US$1 billion between January and February 2024. This, according to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, “is a record that has never happened in the history of Jamaica”. “So, the good news is that Jamaica’s trajectory continues even against odds,” Mr. Bartlett added. He was speaking during Thursday’s (March 14) press...

Persons interested in being certified as tour guides are being invited to register for the Tourism Product Development Company’s (TPDCo) upcoming ‘Tour Guide Training Programme’, to be held in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Registration may be done by calling the TPDCo’s Ocho Rios office at 876-974-7705. Training Manager, Ocho Rios Region, TPDCo, Cheryl Traille-Tennant, told JIS News that the programme...