Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has issued a stern warning that breaches of the established protocols put in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, will not be tolerated in the tourism sector. This as he underscored that the controversial staging of the Mocha Fest event at Rick’s Café in Negril was in direct breach of the Government’s...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has stepped up his lobby for players in the global community to make their voices heard about the issue of vaccine equity and its implications for global economic recovery, as well as the full restoration of the tourism industry. The Minister renewed his appeal during the just concluded Global Tourism Recovery Summit, chaired by the...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is mourning the passing of tourism stalwart and prominent businessman, Ernest Smatt, who died today (May 27, 2021) at the age of 88. Smatt died in Miami, Florida, while receiving treatment in hospital. “Jamaica mourns the passing of a real tourism icon. Ernie Smatt was the quintessential tourism man. He understood the game and had...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says direct foreign investments in Jamaica’s hospitality sector have not waned, even with tourism being badly affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Minister’s confidence is fueled by confirmation that 980 new rooms will be added to the nation’s stock. Mr. Bartlett, who was in Madrid, Spain, attending the recent international tourism trade fair,...

One of the country’s major European partners, Germany, no longer considers the island a hotspot for the possible contraction of COVID-19. Flights between the two countries resumed on Sunday, May 23, a clear sign that tourism is starting to open up again in Europe, Jamaica’s third biggest market, behind the United States and Canada. Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is...

The Harmony Beach Park, in Montego Bay, St. James, developed at a cost of $1.3 billion, was officially opened by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness,  on Friday (May 21). Among the amenities on the 16-acre park are 132 parking spaces, restroom facilities, an activity centre, a jogging trail, a promenade along the beach, and a multipurpose court. There...

The Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St. James, is expected to give rise to tourism entrepreneurship in the resort capital when opened. “We are hoping that it can be a catalyst to spawn tourism entrepreneurship now that all the residential communities around the area or even the business communities around will have an attraction that will pull a lot...