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KINGSTON – Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the tourism sector has recorded a 9.4 per cent increase since the start of the winter season, with just over one million cruise and stopover arrivals, up from 962, 809 for the same quarter last year. Speaking at the Rotary Club of St. Andrew’s weekly luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel,...

Ground is to be broken soon for 900 hotel rooms under phase two of the hotel expansion project being undertaken by Spanish Hotel chain, Fiesta Hotel Group, in Point, Hanover, pending the Hanover Parish Council’s approval of the development plans. This will involve expansion of the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort and Spa, with the 900 additional luxury suites and other...

Prime Minister, the Hon Bruce Golding, officially opened Jamaica's 'most modern and elaborate' port, the Falmouth Cruise Pier in Trelawny, on Tuesday March 22. The approximately US$ 269 million pier, which is still under construction,  also saw the arrival of the world’s largest cruise vessel, Oasis of the Seas, making its inaugural stopover in Jamaica, with about 6,000 passengers and...

LONDON – The potential for investment in Tourism and Agriculture was one of the focuses of the third annual Jamaica/United Kingdom (UK) Investment Forum, which was held in London on March 17. This year the Forum looked at a number of the Government’s priority areas for international investment, including Tourism, Agriculture and Agro-processing, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the International...

On the back of a gruelling European trip which finished in the UK, Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett announced a landmark day for Jamaica's tourism industry with the news that visitor arrival figures were at their highest in Jamaica's history. The announcement came as Minister Bartlett participated in the launch of the ‘Meet Jamaica at London 2012’ initiative,...

Jamaica's buoyant tourism sector could provide the stimulus for growing the island's agriculture sector and by extension the productive sector, Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett has expressed. Addressing the Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit (ACTS) in Brussels, Belgium on March 14, Minister Bartlett said “we in tourism and our domestic industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services need to...

Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who recently assumed his duties as a member of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), representing the entire Americas region, has met with David Scowsill President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) at ITB Berlin, to discuss the possibility of standardizing tourism messaging from...

Jamaica has secured yet another award after the destination was recognized as the "Best Emerging Tourism Market" by PATWA (Pacific Area Travel Writers Association) at the organization's annual Awards, held at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB Berlin), the world's biggest tourism trade fair, on Thursday March 10. Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who was the guest speaker at...

Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who is presently in Berlin, Germany for the International Tourism Exchange (ITB Berlin), the world’s biggest tourism trade fair, is moving to increase awareness of Jamaica’s tourism product, not only in existing markets but also in emerging markets, such as Russia. To this end, Minister Bartlett met with Alexander Radkov from the Russian...

Minister of Transport and Works, the Hon Mike Henry, has appealed to Trelawny residents not too carry out demonstrations which could endanger the fledging cruise industry in Falmouth. Mr. Henry told JIS News Monday afternoon (March 7) that he was concerned about reports of planned road blocking demonstrations on the Springvale Main Road (commonly called Wakefield Main Road) in Northern...

Tourism Minister the Hon. Edmund Bartlettis to hold critical discussions with tourism interests as he travels to Europe for several important meetings over the next few days. Minister Bartlett, who had been in Washington D.C. for a number of crucial meetings with key players in the global tourism industry, as he assumes his duties as a member of the Executive...

The Government is in discussions with the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), a subsidiary of the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD), to access US$10 million in funding to assist small hotels and medium-sized businesses that supply the tourism sector. Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who met with officials from both institutions at the IDB’s Washington, D.C., headquarters on Tuesday, March 1, said...