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With some three weeks before the 2010 winter tourist season ends, Jamaica is recording its highest ever arrival figures for the period, with about 600,000 guests visiting the island's shores. Speaking to members of the sector during the announcement of finalists for the Tourism Service Excellence Programme (TSEP) 2009 at the Hilton hotel in New Kingston yesterday (March 25), Tourism...

Church leaders and pastors from the United Kingdom (UK) are expected to converge in Jamaica this September for a church retreat dubbed: 'Exhale 2010'. The retreat, which is slated for the Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, has the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). It is being organised by a number of UK pastors in conjunction with the...

Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, the largest Caribbean franchise chain in the United States, has teamed with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to promote Jamaica as a premier tourist destination. Golden Krust has launched a two-month "Jamaica Escape" promotion in its stores in the northeast region of the United States. In March and April, consumers in New York, Pennsylvania,...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding welcomed the return of Ladies Pro Golf Association (LPGA) to Jamaica as a boost to the country's image as a sports destination. Mr. Golding was speaking at the Jamaica launch of the LPGA-sanctioned Mojo 6 Raceway Golf tournament on March 14 at the Caymanas Country Clubhouse in St Catherine. Called the "sprint of golf", the raceway-style...

The Clarendon-based Ebony Park HEART Academy on Friday (March 5) unveiled its agro eco-tourism project, which is a combination of nature and farm-related activities to attract locals and visitors to the island. The launch was held during Farm Fest 2010, which is Ebony Park's annual agricultural show. Through the project, visitors are encouraged to experience agricultural life firsthand and participate...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has said that while the introduction of casino gaming will not save the economy, it will help to boost earnings and bring more tourists to the island. "What we have to accept is that casinos have become very much an institutionalised part of the tourism product worldwide and it has...

Jamaica is set to host the first leg of the 2010 Kite Boarding World Cup Series at Long Bay Beach, Portland, March 25 to April 3. The 10-day tournament is expected to attract up to 1,000 visitors to see the over 50 competitors from Brazil, Wales, Norway, Spain, Poland, Australia, France, Denmark, the USA, Mexico, Italy and Jamaica. Speaking at...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has said that a strategy is being developed for the economic recovery of earthquake-hit Haiti, which will use elements of Jamaica's Tourism Master Plan. This strategy, called the Montego Bay Initiative, will position tourism as a main pillar for the economic development of Haiti. "The model which is being used, is really a model that...

Small hotels represent a third, or just under 10,000 of Jamaica's hotel room stock, and despite the all inclusive concept, have contributed significantly to the growth of the hospitality sector over many years. They represent the entrepreneurial spirit of many Jamaicans, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Mr.Wayne Cummings tells JIS News, and they must receive continuous...

Small business owners in the tourism sector have been keeping their businesses afloat through financial assistance from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). Proprietor of Bubbling Springs in Middle Quarters, St Elizabeth, Lincoln Fagan, says the loan saved his property. After starting his business in 2000, Mr. Fagan confesses that it was rough getting things off the ground. "The loan has...

Minister of Tourism, the Hon Edmund Bartlett, has said that the Government will be spending some $250 million this year on two major spas, Bath, St. Thomas and Milk River, Clarendon, towards the development of Health and Wellness Tourism. Mr. Bartlett said that this was in keeping with the efforts to expand the 'mental imprint' of Destination Jamaica, worldwide. Minister...

Jamaica's tourism received another major boost Thursday (February 11), when Air Tran Airways launched nonstop services from three locations in the United States to Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay. The three inaugural flights from - the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Orlando International Airport and the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, touched down in Montego Bay Thursday afternoon (February 11)...