TEF Chairman Highlights Rapid Recovery of Tourism Sector

The tourism sector is fortunate to be recovering rapidly after a tumultuous two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Godfrey Dyer.

Representing Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, at a Thanksgiving Service to officially launch Tourism Awareness Week activities, at the Montego Bay New Testament Church, in St. James, on September 25, Mr. Dyer said tourism was significantly hard hit, impacting those who depend on it directly and indirectly for their livelihood.

“As residents of Montego Bay, our tourism capital, you would have experienced this disruption personally,” he told the audience.

Tourism Awareness Week is being observed from September 25 to October 1, under the theme ‘Rethinking Tourism’, which is consistent with the theme selected by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for World Tourism Day 2022, which will be celebrated globally on Tuesday, September 27.

“The pandemic has changed even the most ardent believer, and we are glad for the resumption to near normalcy. It is, therefore, good to be here this morning to give God thanks and praise [for] our recovery and to ask God for his guidance and protection as we move forward,” Mr. Dyer said.

For her part, Chair of the Montego Bay Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Nadine Spence, who represented President of the organisation, Clifton Reader, said that the sector and the island in general, has a lot to be thankful for.

“This is the ideal place and occasion to give thanks. We give thanks [that] despite the forecasts of ‘doom and gloom’ and the devastation we saw in many parts of the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the pain experienced by some of us here in Jamaica, because of the death of loved ones, Jamaica was spared the worst,” Ms. Spence said.

“We give thanks that through careful management by the health authorities, in collaboration with representatives of various sectors, including hospitality and tourism, academia and business, Jamaica is on the rebound. The planes are coming again, our hotels are open and ready to receive our guests, and our attractions, restaurants, craft vendors, taxi drivers, farmers and manufacturers are back on the job earning an honest living,” she added.

Among the activities this week will be daily advertorials highlighting initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism and its public bodies that foster innovation in tourism, the virtual Edmund Bartlett lecture series, a style Jamaica runway show, a tourism opportunities visionary symposium, a youth forum, a special virtual knowledge forum, the official launch of the tourism innovation incubator, speaking engagements at schools across Jamaica, a tourism stakeholder engagement activity, a youth poster competition, among others.