A Chocolate Festival will soon be added to the list of festivals to be marketed as part of Jamaica’s tourism product. The disclosure was made by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, in an interview with JIS News at the second staging of the Jamaica Rum Festival on Saturday (February 29) at Hope Gardens in Kingston. According to Minister Bartlett,...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, wants the annual Jamaica Rum Festival to be expanded to the tourism Mecca of Montego Bay. Speaking to JIS News at the second staging of the event at Hope Gardens on Saturday (February 29), the Minister noted that “festivals are a big part of what brings people to a destination” and as such, he...

Some 8,000 tourism workers who do not have formal training are being targeted by the Government for certification over the next two years. Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, made the disclosure at a sensitisation session on the tourism workers’ pension scheme at the Hotel Tim Bamboo in Port Antonio on Thursday (February 27). He said that the certifying initiative...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, on Friday (February 28), broke ground for a US$1 billion multi-resort development - Sugarcane Bay Jamaica - in Llandovery, St. Ann. The project is being executed by Karisma Hotels and Resorts on a 226-acre property that will add approximately 4,700 new rooms in the tourism sector. The...

The Marella Discovery 2 cruise ship made its second call to Port Royal on Monday (February 24), carrying some 1,800 visitors to Kingston. The cruise ship created history on January 20, when it was the first to dock at the newly opened cruise port constructed by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ). The passengers, on disembarking, were welcomed with cultural...

Four pieces of legislation that will go a far way in strengthening the country’s tourism sector are to be amended during the 2020/21 fiscal year. These are the Bath of St Thomas the Apostle (Amendment) Act and Regulation and the Milk River Bath (Amendment) Act, which will facilitate the development and modernisation of the facilities through public-private partnership; the Tourist...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says enhancing the visitor experience through the provision of high-quality and authentic attractions is critical in maintaining the country’s competitive edge in the global tourism marketplace. “The fact is Jamaica is competing with destinations globally for travel dollars. It is, therefore, critical that we establish a competitive advantage that sets us apart from them,”...

More than 70,000 residents of several communities in deep rural St. James will benefit from the establishment of the Caanan/Adelphi Water Supply System. The $300-million project is being undertaken by the National Water Commission (NWC) through partnership with Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL), with funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). It will include installation of a 300,000-gallon storage tank,...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says students from the pilot cohort of the Hospitality Training Management Programme (HTMP) will sit their final examinations in June of this year. In a message read by Executive Director of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Dr. Andrew Spencer, at the official launch of the National Tourism Debate Competition at the S Hotel...