With cruise shipping at a standstill and stopover arrivals just returning, one popular tourist attraction – Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios, St. Ann – has set its sights firmly on the local market. In an interview with JIS News, the attraction’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Michael Drakulich, said that prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Mystic Mountain had been creating...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced a suite of financial measures in the form of grants and loans to assists Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs). The move, forms part of the government’s commitment to help small tourism businesses retool and rebound amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding, will be provided through the Tourism Enhancement Fund; the Rural Economic...

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) will provide 500 COVID-19 protective kits, valued at more than $15 million, to small tourism properties islandwide. Making the announcement during a digital press conference on July 10, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said the kits, valued at more than $30,000 each, will include two touchless garbage bins, two touchless hand sanitiser dispensers and...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced that since the phased reopening of the country’s borders on June 15, Jamaica has welcomed more than 35,000 visitors. “We expect to have another 30,000 at the end of July, and that would bring us somewhere in the region of about US$80 million in foreign exchange,” the Minister said. Mr. Bartlett was...

One hundred and eighty three (183) manufacturers and artisans, have capitalized on the opportunity to display their locally-made corporate gift items for assessment, as they seek to secure their spot among the exhibitors at the first-ever virtual staging of the Christmas in July Tradeshow. The local producers all participated in the assessment process at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, over a...

Persons who are interested in participating in the ‘Christmas in July’ Trade Show are being encouraged to apply before the July 3 deadline. The application form can be accessed at jamaicatourismsuppliersdirectory.com and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) website at www.jbdc.net. The event is an opportunity for local producers of gifts and souvenir items to promote their products to alternative...

A new management team has been put in place to ramp up the monitoring of the coronavirus (COVID-19) resilient corridor, which confines the movement of visitors to the northern end of the island, in keeping with the phased reopening of the tourism sector. This was announced by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who said the team will be led...