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Minister of State for Industry and Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill has said that the annual Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival has a tremendous impact on the hospitality industry, as it helps to boost visitor arrivals.He told JIS News, that 22,600 persons attended last year's festival and said he was optimistic that this year's event would be "bigger and better."...

Black Entertainment Television (BET), one of the top American television entertainment networks, will again join forces with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to promote the annual Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival. The event will be held from January 26 to 28 on the picturesque Rose Hall Estate, located just outside the resort city of Montego Bay. Cybelle Brown, Vice...

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet Assamba, has appealed to students to make use of every educational opportunity to prepare for a productive future and to contribute to the country's development. The Minister, who was addressing the annual Youth Tourism Awareness Conference where she spoke on the topic: 'Tourism and Me,' told the students to consider what their lives...

With the winter tourist season fast approaching, the Port Authority of Jamaica has been working assiduously to increase cruise ship arrivals in Port Antonio, as it continues with efforts to reposition the town as a major resort and cruise ship destination. Ted Tatham, Vice President for cruise shipping at the Authority, told JIS News that the organization was making representations...

The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) will be partnering with the Portland Parish Development Committee to refurbish attractions in the parish for the upcoming winter tourist season, which begins in December. In an interview with JIS News, Syble Rendle, Chairperson of the Portland Parish Development Committee said a planning committee has been established to work out the details of the...

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet Assamba has said that with new and powerful trading blocs emerging in Europe, China and the Americas, Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean had no option but to adopt new and responsive regional measures to ensure their survival and competitiveness. Mrs. Assamba pointed out that due to the process of globalization, the...

Some 20,146 loans valued $670.5 million, were made to the micro and small business sectors during the 2004/2005 financial year, leading to the creation of some 12,675 new jobs. Industry and Tourism Minister Aloun Ndombet Assamba, who made the announcement yesterday (July 27), said the figure represented a 27.6 percent increase over the number of loans in the previous year...

Strong representation is being made at several levels for an extension of the implementation date to meet the requirements under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), for Americans travelling to Jamaica to hold passports for re-entry to the United States as of January 2006. This was noted by Industry and Tourism State Minister, Dr. Wykeham McNeill during his contribution to...

Jamaica recorded its best ever year in tourism in 2004, reflecting an overall growth of 4.8 per cent, with a record 1,414,786 stopover visitors. This was reported by Dr. Wykeham McNeill, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, when he spoke in the 2005/06 Sectoral Debate in the House on Wednesday, June 29. He said the industry recorded...

Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, has said that preliminary work was being carried out for the establishment of a 20-man police station in the Farm Heights area of St. James. "We have done our surveys, we have done our work and the documentation is in. It is recommended that we put in a 20-man station. I will meet with the...

The 2005 staging of the Calabash literary festival, has been touted as a huge success, with the staging of the event last weekend in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth described as the best ever in the festival's five year history. Principal Organiser of the event, Justine Henzell told JIS News, that there was vast improvement in the "on the ground organisation"...

The resort town of Ocho Rios continues to record high cruise ship arrivals, with over 91, 000 passengers expected for the month of March. Manager of the Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Terminal, Dennis Richards told JIS News, that 42 cruise ships were expected to arrive at the Ocho Rios and Reynold's piers this month. "This figure will be the highest...