The tourism industry continues to record unprecedented growth, with a 9.1 per cent increase in stopover arrivals for the first eight months of 2019. Director of Tourism, Donovan White, points out that up to August 31, 2019, Jamaica recorded 1.8 million in stopover arrivals, achieving a revenue inflow of US$2.39 billion, which is a 12 per cent growth in earnings...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica’s hospitality industry is well positioned to generate the US$5-billion being targeted by 2021 under the 5x5x5 growth agenda. This, he said, is based on activities associated with the five Tourism Linkages Networks – Gastronomy (food); Shopping; Entertainment and Sports; Health and Wellness; and Knowledge. He was speaking during a press conference at the...

The Ministry of Tourism, through the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), is moving to mobilise resources locally and internationally to assist The Bahamas in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian. Along with the resources that are expected to be provided by local tourism stakeholders to assist the hurricane-wrecked island, the Tourism Ministry will be...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced new flights out of South America and Russia to Jamaica. Speaking at a press conference to provide updates on industry developments, at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices on Tuesday (September 3), Mr. Bartlett said those and further expansion in the island’s hotel room stock by more than 1,000 over the next three months,...

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme will allow for flexible contributions through its use of individual retirement savings accounts, says Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett. Speaking at a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, Mr. Bartlett explained that each tourism enterprise worker who joins the scheme will have his or her own retirement savings account with their contributions, their employers’ contributions and interest...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith, says plans are advanced for the establishment of the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme by early 2020. She advised that details pertaining to the accompanying Tourism Workers’ Pension Act regulations, and recruitment of personnel to manage the scheme’s investments and operations, are being finalised. “We are well advanced with the actual work...

There is heightening stakeholder anticipation over the impending arrival of the world’s largest cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, in 2020. The vessel, which will dock at the Falmouth Pier in Trelawny, is slated to make eight port calls to Jamaica between May and October, bringing nearly 72,000 passengers. Each visit is expected to see some 6,680...