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Jamaica’s Tourism Ministry to Forge Partnerships with Argentina

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Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says his Ministry is in talks with the Argentine Republic to forge partnerships in areas such as education, destination marketing, and resilience building.

The Minister made this announcement during a courtesy call to his New Kingston office by the Argentine Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Luis Del Solar on October 29, 2019.

“The first area of collaboration we are interested in forging is in human capital development for our tourism workers. Therefore, the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation will seek to collaborate with a university in Buenos Aires on a conversational Spanish curriculum for tourism workers. This will ensure that the average worker can become conversant in the language,” said the Minister.

He noted that this is against the background of the expected increase in visitors to the island from the South American market because of additional airlift from the region beginning in December.

LATAM Airlines will inaugurate three weekly flights from Peru and other South American countries to Montego Bay. This is in addition to 11 flights now offered by Copa Airlines out of Panama, to bring the total weekly flights between South America and Jamaica to 14.

“LATAM Airlines, flying out of Peru, will be making connections from several gateways in South America countries, including Argentina which is the largest partner in South America for Jamaica, providing some 5,000 visitors annually,” he said.

Ambassador Del Solar expressed interest in learning more about strategies used by the Jamaica Tourist Board to market the destination.

“We are very interested in sharing experiences with marketing the country as a tourism destination. I think the marketing of Jamaica is very interesting and I think there are a lot of possibilities to exchange of experiences,” said Del Solar.

“To be honest, you have been able to protect the image of the country with many positive things. We need to learn how to do it better. We have a strong industry but we could do much more,” he continued.

During the discussions, the Minister and Ambassador Del Solar also explored corporation in the area of resilience and the possibility of setting up a satellite of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRMC) in Buenos Aires.

The satellite center will focus on regional issues and will share information in nanoTime with the GTRCMC. It will also function as a think tank to develop possible solutions.

The GTRCMC, which was first announced in 2017, assists in destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that affect tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally. There are plans also to establish satellite centers in Kenya Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, and Seychelles.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Magnitude 6.0 earthquake jolts South Sandwich Islands region

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Magnitude 6.0 earthquake rocked South Sandwich Islands region today. No tsunami warning issued.

Preliminary Earthquake Report:

Magnitude 6.0

Date-Time • 22 Apr 2019 14:49:07 UTC

• 22 Apr 2019 12:49:07 near epicenter

Location 56.265S 27.398W

Depth 95 km

Distances • 2414.1 km (1496.7 mi) SW of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Saint Helena
• 2549.7 km (1580.8 mi) ENE of Ushuaia, Argentina
• 2555.4 km (1584.3 mi) E of R�o Grande, Argentina
• 2749.7 km (1704.8 mi) E of R�o Gallegos, Argentina
• 2765.0 km (1714.3 mi) E of Puerto Deseado, Argentina

Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 5.1 km; Vertical 5.9 km

Parameters Nph = 63; Dmin = 618.5 km; Rmss = 0.61 seconds; Gp = 36°

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Italian Exhibition Group returns to China to promote international tourism

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Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) is returning to China to promote international tourism business. The appointment is at the Shanghai World Travel Fair (SWTF), one of the major tourism industry expos of Eastern China, the 16th edition of which is being held from 18th to 21st April.

Over 750 exhibitors from 53 countries and regions of the world are awaited at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

SWTF, co-organized by Europe Asia Global Link Exhibitions (EAGLE) – joint venture created by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) and VNU Exhibitions Asia – and Shanghai International Convention & Exhibition Corp. Ltd (on behalf of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism), offers the sector’s trade members a unique business platform and, for the general public, an all-round insight on tourism products, all in the largest tourism region of the Chinese market, Eastern China (China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market, with 149.72 million outbound journeys and a 14.7% increase in 2018).

With over 15,000 trade members expected and a public of 50,000 visitors, the 2019 edition of SWTF will host a busy calendar of appointments and new features. Visitors will explore tourist destinations from all over the world, including Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Cuba, Gabon, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. SWTF will highlight the entire tourism chain, starting with tourist offices, travel agencies and tour operators, OTA, hotel, airlines, theme parks and resorts, as well as travel services and insurance companies.

On a professional level, SWTF reconfirms its role as a great opportunity for matching to all effects. Over 3,000 B2B appointments with selected buyers from all over Eastern China will take part in the events and the panel scheduled on the latest trends in outbound tourism, organized in cooperation with China Travel Agent. Regarding this, an exclusive B2B area has been realized, which will be accessible to the sector’s trade members exclusively via a face detection system, in order to ensure the quality of the meetings with international suppliers.

Emerging destinations, digital marketing, developments on visa policies and MICE, are just some of the issues that will be covered in the panels by the sector’s opinion leaders, ready to share their successful case histories with the public. Plus, among the speakers, there will also be representatives of the top management of companies such as Ctrip, Tuniu, Uzai, Spring Tour and Tongshen Group, as well as the directors of the Tourism offices of New Zealand, Switzerland and Serbia with branches in Shanghai.

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Tourists are cashing in on Argentina’s economic woes

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International travelers are flocking to Argentina, taking advantage of the poorly performing peso to boost the value of their holiday spending money, according to latest data.

Bookings for March to May are ahead 11.2% compared to last year. For South America as a whole, bookings are ahead 5.8%.

In the preceding year to February, international arrivals in Argentina were up 3.9%, compared to 5.5% for the entire region.

Europe and Latin America are the fastest-growing markets for travel to Argentina. There is also an increasing number of travelers from China (+21.9%) and Israel (+15.9%), among the top ten countries by growth.

Heading the list is Uruguay with bookings ahead 34.3% on last year, for travel between March and May. The UK is showing a strong 33.5% growth for the same period.

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No tsunami threat after strong earthquake rocks South Sandwich Islands

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Powerful magnitude of 6.5 earthquake has struck the South Atlantic Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands today.

“Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake. No action is required,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

Preliminary Earthquake Report:

Magnitude 6.5

Date-Time • 9 Apr 2019 17:54:00 UTC
• 9 Apr 2019 15:54:00 near epicenter

Location 58.614S 25.357W

Depth 47 km

Distances • 2568.8 km (1592.6 mi) E of Tolhuin, Argentina
• 2576.4 km (1597.3 mi) SSW of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Saint Helena
• 2617.5 km (1622.9 mi) E of Ushuaia, Argentina
• 2636.3 km (1634.5 mi) E of R�o Grande, Argentina
• 2847.9 km (1765.7 mi) E of R�o Gallegos, Argentina

Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 5.1 km; Vertical 5.0 km

Parameters Nph = 119; Dmin = 838.2 km; Rmss = 0.93 seconds; Gp = 31°

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UNWTO Convenes Cities in Lisbon to Cooperate on a Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Tourism Agenda

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The first UNWTO Mayors Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism, co-organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ministry of Economy of Portugal and the Lisbon Municipality concluded Friday in Lisbon, Portugal. The event gathered Mayors and high-level city representatives from around the world, UN agencies and the private sector, to design a shared leadership aimed at ensuring that tourism helps creating cities for all.

Under the theme ‘Cities for all: building cities for citizens and visitors’, the forum explored issues and solutions for developing and managing tourism in cities in a way that promotes economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

In a time of intense debate over the growing number of tourists and the livability and sustainability of cities, the forum exchanged ideas and good practices on urban tourism and destination management, discussed innovative tools and public policies on urban tourism at the national and local levels and way of promoting the integration of tourism into wider national and local urban development agenda.

“The income generated from tourism contributes significantly to the socio-economic and cultural development of many cities and its surroundings. Yet, the growth of urban tourism also creates important challenges in terms of the use of natural resources, socio-cultural impact, pressure on infrastructure, mobility, congestion management and relationship with host communities. Tourism policies should thus be designed as integrated urban policies that promote a well-balanced city economically, socially and environmentally” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili opening the event.

The Portuguese Minister of Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira, acknowledged that “tourism is a major driver for the Portuguese economy. Portugal welcomes this first Mayors Forum as an international stage for discussing the challenges that urban tourism faces and how local communities can benefit the most from tourism. The Lisbon Declaration is a firm commitment from all participants so that tourism contributes materially to the Sustainable Development Goals”.

The Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, added that “social sustainability in tourism is one of the main priorities in our 2027 Tourism Strategy. We launched a Sustainability Program for the development of projects by the civil society that involve local populations and tourists so that tourism leaves value in the territories”.

The Mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, said “The growth of tourism has important and positive economic impacts. Yet for managing such growth, ensuring sustainability and safeguarding the quality of life of Lisbon’s citizens requires more investment in infrastructure. In Lisbon, we are implementing measures such as increasing transport capacity and investment in urban infrastructure catering for residents and tourists.”

Issues discussed include big data and innovative solutions, new business models, creative cities and events, infrastructure, resources and planning, local community engagement and empowerment and how to ensure the full inclusion of tourism in the wider urban agenda.

Participating in the Forum were Gustavo Santos of Argentina, Secretary of State for Tourism of Argentina, Ana Mendes Godinho, Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal, Isabel Oliver, the Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, Mayors and Vice Mayors of 16 cities around the world (Barcelona, Bruges, Brussels, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow, Nur-Sultan, Paris, Porto, Prague, Punta del Este, Tbilisi, Sao Paulo and Seoul), UNES>CO, UN Habitat, the World Bank, the European Committee of the Regions as well as Amadeus, Airbnb, CLIA, Expedia, Mastercard and Unidigital.

The Forum adopted the Lisbon Declaration on Sustainable Urban Tourism, in which participants reinforced their commitment to align urban tourism policies with the United Nations New Urban Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 11 – ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.

The Lisbon Declaration on Sustainable Urban Tourism will be presented at the twenty-third session of the General Assembly of UNWTO, to be held this September in St. Petersburg, Russia.

During the event, UNWTO Secretary-General and the Mayor Bakhyt Sultanov of Nursultan (Kazakhstan) signed an agreement for the hosting of the 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism, to be held on 9 to 12 October 2019.

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Follow travel journalists of “The Bucket List Family”

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The Bucket List Family is a family of five, including three small children, who travel the world together documenting and sharing their adventures. The family will travel with LATAM Airlines throughout the South American region, checking off places from their bucket list with some of the most popular destinations in the region.

In addition, LATAM is bridging a partnership between The Bucket List Family and TECHO, a nonprofit organization that seeks to overcome the poverty situation that millions of people live in across Latin America through the joint work of its inhabitants and young volunteers.

During a yearlong adventure, LATAM will take the family to key destinations in South America to explore the variety of cultures, and via their partnership with TECHO, present the family with the opportunity to give back to the communities by collaborating with local leaders and share their efforts and accomplishments for building better communities.

“We are thrilled to fly with LATAM to amazing destinations and work with TECHO to help in its important mission of fighting poverty throughout the region, said Jessica Gee, matriarch of the Bucket List Family. “In every country we visit, we try to find local service opportunities where we can not only give back but impart valuable life lessons to our children. That’s why we feel this latest adventure is perfectly aligned with our mission and family values.”

Felipe Bogotá, General Director at TECHO added: “TECHO is proud to join LATAM in making The Bucket List Family´s tour an opportunity to build bridges and share on the disparate realities of life in Latin America with the world. Sharing stories is a substantial part of our work, which we have developed in part thanks to LATAM´s foundational contribution to our organization.”

The Bucket List Family will begin its tour in March of 2019, running through 2020. They are expected to visit Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

“LATAM is thrilled to take the Bucket List Family on this amazing adventure of discovery and purpose,” said Pablo Chiozza, Senior Vice President USA, Asia, Canada and Caribbean at LATAM Airlines.

Follow the journey and join the conversations at The Bucket List Family and use the hashtag #TheBucketListandLATAM.

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IGLTA Foundation’s new NYC think tank to address key issues in LGBTQ+ Tourism

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The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association Foundation (IGLTAF) inaugural Leadership Think Tank will unite top executives from LGBTQ+ welcoming destinations around the globe at Google during IGLTA’s 36th Annual Global Convention in New York City this April. The invitation-only discussion will focus on responsible tourism through the lens of LGBTQ+ welcoming travel and is presented with support from Miles Partnership and Google.

“IGLTA strives to continuously drive the conversations around LGBTQ+ travel to reflect our ever-evolving industry,” said IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella. “We’re proud that IGLTAF has assembled for this important dialogue such an influential group of industry veterans from destinations and organizations that value our LGBTQ+ travel community.”

The Leadership Think Tank, organized in collaboration with NYC & Company and NYU’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, will include leaders from Destination Canada, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Cape Town Tourism, Destination DC, Italy National Tourist Board, Visit Dallas, Destination Niagara USA, Bermuda Tourism Authority, Discover Puerto Rico, Embratur (Brazil), Visit California, Milano Smart City Association, Greater Boston CVB, Destinations International, Tourism Madrid, Guam Visitors Bureau, U.S. Travel Association, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, Barcelona Tourism, Visit Salt Lake City, Thailand Tourism, and Greater Miami CVB.

“Accepting a seat at the leadership table during this invitation-only roundtable is important to affirm Bermuda’s position as a welcoming destination to all travelers, including the LGBTQ+ visitors,” said Kevin Dallas, CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “We applaud the IGLTA Foundation’s role in convening such diverse destinations to discuss critical issues facing the industry.”

A white paper from the session will be provided to the trade press and IGLTA’s global membership that focuses on five topics:
• Addressing issues of destination overcrowding as it impacts LGBTQ + travelers
• Analyzing the differences between LGBTQ+ travel niches and integration of LGBTQ+ travelers into the “mainstream”
• Diversifying LGBTQ+ products and services
• Examining cultural perspectives that impact LGBTQ+ tourism
• Discussing the challenges facing LGBTQ+ business owners in emerging destinations

“It’s a privilege to work with IGLTAF and to be a part of this special event, which is pondering some of the key forward-looking issues facing travel and tourism,” said U.S. Travel Association President/CEO Roger Dow. “This will be a terrific lineup engaging one of the most valuable practices we can undertake as an industry: anticipating and planning for challenges, which will better enable us to sustain our strength as an economic engine and job creator.”

Daniela Wagner, Group Business Development Director, Jacobs Media Group & Director EMEA, Pacific Asia Travel Association, and Fred Mayo, MBA, PhD, CHE, CHT, Founder, Mayo Consulting Services and Clinical Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, NYU, will co-moderate the Leadership Think Tank.

The 36th Annual IGLTA Global Convention would not be possible without the generous support of our convention sponsors: Presenting Level – NYC & Company, Delta Air Lines, Disney Destinations©, Italian National Tourist Board; Official Level – AIG Travel, Inc., Airbnb, Guam Visitors Bureau, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Italian National Tourist Board, Malta Tourism Authority, Visit Philadelphia®; Conference Level – Inprotur Argentina, Visit Britain, VisitDallas, International Experience Canada/Government of Canada, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Miles Partnership, Q.Digital, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, Visit West Hollywood.

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