For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

Health and Wellness Key to Driving Tourism Industry Post COVID – Bartlett

by

Health and wellness tourism has been identified as a key area that will help to drive growth in the Jamaica tourism industry moving forward, in light of the new norm created in the global travel and hospitality market, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This position was outlined by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett at the opening of the two-day Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference now underway at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. This is the second such conference being hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), and with physical attendance restricted by COVID-19 protocols, this year’s event is being streamed live to online participants.

Minister Bartlett said: “Health and Wellness will become one of the key cornerstones for destination differentiation in our tourism marketing. This is primarily because the new demographic emerging, Gen C, are going to be the new drivers of travel and they are going to require destinations that have strong health security properties.”

He noted that the Jamaican people are key players in the new thrust. “This is one of the reasons why we are going to be focusing heavily on building the capacity of our people to better take care of themselves and also to provide those elements of care that are going to be fitting the need that the visitors have when they come to the country,” said the Tourism Minister.

He proffered that the coronavirus pandemic has provided a new opportunity in the health and wellness tourism arena while also creating great demand for the island to be more pristine by making a greater investment in destination assurance. “Jamaica is going to have to establish itself as a destination where the confidence that the visitor wants, that he is going to be safe and secure, and he will have a seamless experience, is never second guessed,” underscored Minister Bartlett.

He says Jamaica’s tourism marketing will focus heavily on that as it seeks to woo back hundreds of thousands of visitors whose travel plans have been derailed since February this year by the pandemic. In that regard, Mr. Bartlett disclosed that an international team has begun work on Jamaica’s Destination Assurance Policy which will become the guiding light for the country’s own strategies to ensure better management of the destination.

The new tourism marketing thrust is supported by President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Clifton Reader who said “coming out of COVID-19 there will be a great demand, especially for older people travelling; they have the money to travel and they are going to bring their families, but, of course, they have preexisting conditions.”

Stating that health and wellness tourism was a very lucrative US billion dollar industry, Mr. Reader said: “When you look at the economic viability of this area, it is tremendous and Jamaica is so poised with all the facilities we have.” The JHTA president also said it was very important that through collaboration with government and private stakeholders, that the medical facilities within Jamaica be developed to attract more travelers.

More news about Jamaica

#rebuildingtravel

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications Division, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4924, Fax: 906-1729

Sandals Foundation Helps Schools Prepare for New Academic Year

by

To help Sandals Resorts International continue to make a difference in the Caribbean, the Sandals Foundation was launched in March 2009 as a non-profit organization. The Foundation believe that the action of inspiring hope is a force that can move mountains.

In today’s pandemic world, the seemingly simplest of acts can provide huge benefits. To that end, as part of ongoing efforts to invest in the island’s education infrastructure and support the academic growth of students, the Sandals Foundation is constructing handwashing stations at twelve infant and primary schools across St. Ann, St. Mary, Westmoreland, and St. James.

The construction of the handwashing stations, which is valued at approximately US$22,000, is made possible due to support from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a spirits company based in Austin, Texas, USA. In April, the company’s philanthropic arm, Love, Tito’s, donated a total of US$25,000 to the Sandals Foundation to give back to the island’s hospitality workers and communities affected by the pandemic.

Keeping in mind the COVID-19 safety requirements for schools, the Sandals Foundation is working to help the island’s learning institutions meet health, safety, and sanitation measures.

Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation, said upon reviewing the Ministry of Education’s manual for the reopening of schools published in May, the team reached out to a number of institutions within tourism-dependent communities to assess their needs.

“We support the government’s efforts to minimize the risks and spread of the coronavirus especially within our schools, so it was important for us to see how we could help make the process as smooth as possible.”

Through these handwashing stations and sanitation resources, Clarke continued, “we hope we will help promote best practices amongst students, parents, guardians, and teachers alike; create safer spaces for our young ones as they re-enter schools; and help ease the anxiety of everyone involved.”

In addition to the handwashing stations, plumbing and drainage infrastructure which will be erected at the entrance of schools and institutions will be provided with automatic hand soap dispensers, start-up hand soap, paper towels, signage to encourage proper handwashing, hand-held thermometers, and reusable masks for teachers and staff.

Benefiting schools in Westmoreland are West End Early Childhood Institution, Torrington Early Childhood Institution, West End Infant School, Culloden Infant School, Kings Infant and Primary School, and Whitehouse Early Childhood Institution. 

Exchange All Age, Seville Golden Preschool, and Ocho Rios Primary School will benefit from the upgrades in St. Ann, while in St. Mary, Boscobel Primary and Infant School will see the new handwashing stations erected. Finally, the targeted schools in St. James are Leonora Morris Infant and Primary School and Whitehouse Basic School.

All costs associated with administration and management is supported by Sandals International so that 100% of every dollar donated goes directly towards funding impactful and meaningful initiatives within the key areas of Education, Community and Environment.

More news about Sandals

MEDIA CONTACT: 1-888-SANDALS, [email protected]

Jamaica Tourism Rebounding from the Impact of COVID-19

by

As the tourism sector seeks to rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jamaica Tourist Board’s ‘Rediscover Jamaica’ campaign is being hailed as a major success in helping to drive this process. In highlighting the positive contribution of the campaign, Jamaica Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett said it “has been a great success, with some hotels reporting up to 50% to 60% occupancy from local bookings.”

Minister Bartlett, disclosed this recently as he welcomed the reopening of the 49-suite Zoetry hotel in Montego Bay, following a seven-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Bartlett expressed confidence that “this initiative will continue to reduce the impact caused by the fallout from a decline in international tourism receipts and ensure continued buoyancy of the sector until some semblance of normalcy returns.”

He also noted that currently Jamaica is enjoying the highest booking rate in the region with more bookings directly rather than through travel agents. If current levels of interest are maintained, “we are potentially looking at over one million visitors by year end, which would be a fairly impressive achievement, given the current environment,” stated Minister Bartlett.

Regarding investments, he said investors continue to show confidence in the Jamaican market, adding that 90% of previously planned projects are still on target, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Among those slated to come on-stream are a 1700-room hotel in St. James, 2,000 rooms in Green Island, Hanover, and tourism development programs for Kingston and Port Royal.

“This show of confidence in Jamaica by investors has helped to boost our image as a leading tourist destination,” said the Minister as he noted that these investments are creating job opportunities and further fueling the expansion and diversification of the tourism product.

For its part, government was working to create an environment that attracts and fosters premium investments in the sector and to this end, “we are investing in infrastructural development, including the modernization and expansion of the two international airports, improvement of the road network, and expansion and development of our cruise ship piers,” disclosed Minister Bartlett.

He noted that as the country recovers from the current COVID-19 crisis, there was little doubt that the future growth of the nation must be through tourism.  “If tourism’s recovery is to be responsible and sustainable, we must look beyond investments in accommodation and encourage investment in experiential marketing arrangements that will keep Jamaica competitive and cutting edge at all times,” the Tourism Minister said.

Zoetry is one of several properties operated in Jamaica by AMResorts, including the 700-room Secrets Resort, and Breathless Resort, which also reopened its 150-room property recently. Secrets has been back in operation since August 8.

Associate Director of Sales, Kaylia Harrison disclosed that a day after reopening, Zoetry hosted a wedding and most prior bookings had rebooked for October, “so the occupancy is not looking badly at all. This weekend we will be in the 50s and 60s percentage wise, so that’s good.”    

More news about Jamaica

#rebuildingtravel

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

Fraport Brings More Temperature-Sensitive Transporters for Frankfurt Airport

by

Fraport, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport (FRA), will be using two additional state-of-the-art refrigerated trailers for the transportation of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products. This will take Fraport’s total fleet for cross-apron transportation up to 20 temperature-controlled transporters.

“The two new refrigerated transporters will give us maximum flexibility when it comes to handling temperature-sensitive goods. We have profound expertise in this area, and our customers benefit from this. It means that we can offer ideal infrastructure conditions together with our partners at Air Cargo Community in Frankfurt,” said Siegfried Pasler, Head of Ground Handling Services at Fraport AG. The new dollies are called “cool boxes.” They allow pinpoint transportation of temperature-sensitive products in a range of between minus 20 and plus 30 degrees Celsius. Each transporter has two cabins, which can be accessed efficiently from both sides. Each cabin is also fitted with an individually adjustable cooling system. Even when the engine is switched off and the outside temperature is 30 degrees Celsius, the cabin will remain at the set temperature for over 60 minutes. The transporters also have an electronic temperature monitoring system and a tracking system, which enable them to continuously transmit up-to-the-minute loading information.

“Last year, we handled 120,000 metric tons of pharmaceutical products at Frankfurt Airport, making us Europe’s leading pharmaceutical hub. The expansion of the fleet significantly underpins our status even further, particularly with a view to the upcoming transportation of the coronavirus vaccine,” explained Max Philipp Conrady, Head of Cargo Infrastructure and Development at Fraport.

Fraport has been using state-of-the-art, high-performance temperature-controlled transporters for over twenty years now, giving the airport operator a long track record in this area. Frankfurt Airport currently has around 12,000 square meters of temperature-controlled handling capacity available for pharmaceutical products. Another 2,000 square meters are about to be put into operation. Over 75 percent of the airport’s transport routes are certified in accordance with international and European CEIV1 standards.

Media Contact:

Christian Engel

Corporate Communications

Media Relations

Telephone +49 69 690-30713

[email protected]

Fraport AG Begins Construction of New Truck Parking Lot in CargoCity South

by

Today, Fraport AG began construction of a new truck parking lot at Frankfurt Airport’s CargoCity South. The roughly 14,500-square-meter lot is located within the airport’s operational area near Airport Gate 32 in the southern part of Frankfurt Airport (FRA). The new lot will provide space for another 61 trucks, bringing the total truck parking spaces available at CargoCity South to 135. The plans also include state-of-the-art sanitary facilities with shower rooms for the drivers. The parking lot will take around one year to build and is set to be operational by the end of 2021.

Max Philipp Conrady, head of Fraport AG’s Cargo Infrastructure and Development unit, said: “The dedicated truck parking area will further expand parking capacity in CargoCity South. It will provide ample space and modern facilities, as well as improve cargo processes for all partners in this busy area. The coronavirus pandemic has once again demonstrated that CargoCity South is an important transshipment hub for vital goods. We believe that the airfreight sector will continue to be pivotal for the distribution of key products from around the globe. This is why we wish to quickly put in place the additional parking spaces so we can offer our customers even better service.”

Shipping and logistics companies sometimes have to wait for their truck time slot until they can access the relevant logistics warehouse in CargoCity South. In the future, they can bridge the time either at the existing truck parking lot close to Airport Gate 31 or at the new parking lot now under construction at Airport Gate 32.

This parking facility will be equipped with five barrier gates for vehicles entering or exiting. The sanitary rooms will be free to use for parking lot customers. The overall construction cost is expected to be in the low single-digit million euro range. In addition to the truck parking spaces, the new lot will also provide 23 spaces for cars and 2 for buses. These spaces will be separated from the truck area by a fence in order to allow access from the public area of CargoCity South.

Media Contact:  Christian Engel, Corporate Communications, Media Relations, Telephone +49 69 690-30713, [email protected]