Several small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) across the island are receiving much-needed support to scale up their operations, generate new opportunities and increase earnings. The support, which includes capacity-building training, marketing and promotional assistance, is being provided under the ‘Big up Small Business’ initiative, a new project being undertaken by the Travel Foundation in collaboration with international charity, the...

Thirty-five children benefited from a two-week Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF)-sponsored literacy and numeracy summer camp, held in Rosemount Gardens, Montego Bay, St. James. The camp, which culminated on Friday (August 5), was designed to improve the youngsters’ conflict resolution skills, while impacting their education and personal development. Children from six to 17 years of age were targeted and engaged in...

Jamaica, once a playground for the rich and famous, has grown to become a premier destination for tourists over the last 60 years, offering a variety of options for stay when one chooses the island for a vacation or to celebrate important milestones in their lives. Booking a room at an all-inclusive hotel, villa, guest house, or Airbnb, is among...

Jamaica’s main economic engine (tourism) has grown exponentially since the island’s shedding of its colonial status on August 6, 1962. In fact, a closer look at numbers provided by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) will show that the tourism sector has shown strong and sustained growth. Since independence, the total number of visitor arrivals to the island has grown from...

The Ministry of Tourism intends to capitalise on the popularity of explosive West Indies and Jamaican opening batsman-turned-reggae-artist Chris Gayle, in making inroads in the huge-but-untapped Asian market. Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says that Mr. Gayle, being one of only four players to have scored two triple centuries in Test cricket, has not only made a name for himself...

Jamaica today (June 16) welcomed its first scheduled international commercial flight into the Ian Fleming International Airport in Boscobel, St. Mary. The flight, an InterCaribbean Airways Embraer120, brought 30 travellers to the country from Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Passengers and crew were greeted by a delegation led by Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett. Addressing a welcome ceremony on the airport’s...

Tourism and allied industry stakeholders have endorsed the comprehensive suite of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) tools developed for the sector. The provisions are the brainchild of Portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, and comprise a Disaster Risk Management Plan Template and Guidelines, a Business Continuity Plan Template and Guidebook, and a National Destination Assurance Framework and Strategy. He presented packages of...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the sector has been rebounding speedily over the past two years, and Jamaica must continue to offer a high-quality product to maintain the flow of benefits that have been reaped to date. Mr. Bartlett, who was speaking at the Ministry’s Level Up Showcase and Graduation Ceremony at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St....

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed a new partnership between Chukka Caribbean Adventures, and J. Wray & Nephew Limited, as a “big game changer” for Jamaica’s south coast tourism. Speaking to JIS News, Mr. Bartlett, who is currently attending a major global forum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says the partnership, which went into effect on December...