Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the training of more than 7,000 hospitality workers has been done as a key strategy to reposition the industry for the post COVID-19 era. Mr. Bartlett, who was opening the 2021/2022 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on April 20, said the Government is committed to developing a competitive and productive workforce...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has outlined that Jamaica recorded a major increase in stopover arrivals over the Easter holiday weekend, with the island recording the highest number of visitor’s since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “According to preliminary data from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Jamaica recorded some 14,983 visitors to the island from April 1 to 5,...

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett has revealed that Jamaica has finalized arrangements with global cruise company, Norwegian Cruise Line, to homeport one of their vessels in Montego Bay, with service set to begin on August 7, 2021. “I am very pleased to announce that Jamaica will be a homeport for Norwegian Cruise Line, which will see the return of cruise tourism...

The annual Speed Networking event, hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network, will be held on Wednesday (March 31), beginning at 9:00 am. The virtual event, which will take place via the website www.tlnspeednetworking.com, will feature a series of 15-minute prescheduled meetings throughout the day between executives of supplier companies and managers of properties, restaurants, attractions and other tourism entities. Director...

The much anticipated return of cruise shipping in the Caribbean will be realised on June 12, 2021, when global cruise giants Royal Caribbean International will set sail from new home port, Nassau, The Bahamas. The cruise line, the second biggest in the world behind Carnival, has announced a summer line-up of seven-night cruises on board ‘Adventure of the Seas’, where...

Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica, last Tuesday (March 23), managed to cop a major international award for its tourism response to the worldwide pandemic. The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) was recognised by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) with a Best Practice Gold Adrian Award for public relations excellence in Crisis Communications/Management. The focus of the 2020 HSMAI...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has cautioned global leaders that any requirement for proof of vaccination for travel, which does not take into account the unequal access and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, could be considered discriminatory. The Minister made his comments in his capacity as Chair of the Organization of American States (OAS), Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR) Working Group 4,...