Ministry of Tourism to Expand Coffee Festival to Other Parishes
By: , March 25, 2024
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (left), with Director, Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald Riley; Chair of the Gastronomy Network, Nicola Madden-Greig and Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, at the seventh staging of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, held at the Newcastle grounds in St. Andrew on March 2.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
An aerial view of the Newcastle grounds in St. Andrew where the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival was held on March 2.The Full Story
The Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is exploring ways to expand the reach of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival.
In an interview with JIS News at the seventh staging of the festival, held recently in Newcastle, St. Andrew, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said there have been talks about expanding to different locations.
“We’ve been talking about expanding to different locations across Jamaica… and we think it is at the point where a heavier private-sector intrusion is necessary to give it more legs, more body and to take it beyond the Newcastle location,” said Minister Bartlett.
“So, we will be talking around that in this year and beyond to see how we can take it to Mandeville, Montego Bay, Port Antonio and other places across Jamaica,” he continued.
He noted that the Ministry of Tourism, through the TEF, has been “pretty integral” to building out the strength and capacity of the festival for it to expand and grow.
Minister Bartlett further noted that although the Ministry of Tourism does not play a direct role in the management of Jamaica’s coffee industry, it provides marketing opportunities through festivals, such as the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival.
“We are going to continue to do that – the messaging is important. We work with the brand and we expand the knowledge of the brand by doing the necessary marketing that is required. We get the content out there to the public, so they understand that Jamaica has the best coffee in the world… and we bring people here to enjoy it,” said Minister Bartlett.
Some 59 booth holders participated in this year’s Coffee Festival, benefiting from the opportunity to showcase and sell their products.
The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival is the Ministry of Tourism’s flagship event.
The objective of the engagement is to leverage gastronomy as a medium for diversifying the Jamaican tourism product.