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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...

Tourism matters took priority at a meeting which Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett had with Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza and World Tourism Organisation (WTO) Regional Director for the Americas, Carlos Vogeler, in Washington, on March 2. It was agreed that countries of the region could more effectively tackle poverty, gender inequality and climate...

With Jamaica’s newest airport, the Ian Fleming International Airport, now fully operational, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) have joined forces to participate in the Sun ‘N’ Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Florida at month end. The annual event, which runs from Tuesday, March 29 to Sunday, April 3, in Lakeland, Florida, is...

Sole traders and small operators, providing goods and services to the tourism industry, will now be able to benefit from a $100 million loan facility, which was launched on February 28 by the Ministry of Tourism and Jamaica National Small Business Loans. The ‘Five for Five’ loan scheme, which is being driven by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), is offering...

Provisional figures from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) show that the tourism industry earned some US$470.4 million from visitor arrivals during the October to December 2010 quarter. Director General of the PIOJ, Professor Gladstone Hutchinson, addressing the quarterly briefing at the Institute's New Kingston offices on Wednesday (February 23), said the earnings reflect increased real value of 5.4 per...

Tourism Minister, the Hon.Edmund Bartlett has revealed that preliminary figures indicate that a record 26,664 stop over visitors arrived in Jamaica between Thursday February 17 and Sunday February 20, 2011. In making the disclosure, Minister Bartlett said the arrivals represent an increase of 6,004 over the 20,660 that arrived over the same period last year. He expressed that “Jamaica’s stop...

Minister of Transport and Works, the Hon Mike Henry, says that while Falmouth will attract much attention for its new cruise ship pier accommodating some of the world’s largest cruise vessels, the Government will not allow Montego Bay and Ocho Rios to wane. “I want us to stop thinking in a declining position, and start thinking of Jamaica,” Mr. Henry...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has reported a positive turn in the performance of the cruise sector since the start of the year, with the month of January recording a 10.5 per cent growth in cruise passenger arrivals over the similar period last year. “This is very significant, because what it means is that cruise has now turned the...

The town of Falmouth, Trelawny, welcomed its first cruise ship, Voyager of the Seas, with about 4,500 passengers and crew members, bringing to reality the cherished dream of thousands of residents of the parish and western Jamaica on Thursday (February 17). Thousands of residents, and visitors from the cruise ship, were treated to a welcoming event in the town dubbed...

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) is taking its cue from the sets of Hollywood in its promotion of the island during The New York Times Travel Show. The event is slated for February 26 to 27 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Visitors to the destination’s exhibit booth (#220) can view the JTB’s first-of-its-kind tourism...

Tourism Minister, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that a full scale Police investigation is now underway to identify the person or persons who have been swindling job seekers of money, on the basis that they will secure jobs in local and overseas hotels. Speaking at a press conference in Kingston on Thursday February 10, Minister Bartlett said the matter...

Tourism Minister, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett has urged other destinations in the Americas to pursue marketing support arrangements with airlines to ensure airlift security. Minister Bartlett, who was one of the presenters at the Routes Americas Strategy Forum held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the weekend, noted that “the new architecture of the aviation industry demands partnerships to ensure...