For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

Jamaica Tourism Minister Bartlett Tours Norman Manley International Airport

by

Today, the Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, toured Norman Manley International Airport to examine safeguards that have been put in place to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In the main photo, Andre Lewis, Operations Manager, PAC Kingston, assists Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right in the photo) as he examines one of the many new plexiglass screens that have been installed at the Norman Manley International Airport to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Minister Bartlett toured the facility recently to examine the level of preparedness for the reopening of the nation’s borders to tourists on June 15, 2020. The Minister expressed satisfaction with the measures that have been put in place to safeguard front-line workers and passengers alike, including the installation of numerous automated hand sanitizing stations, decals to facilitate social distancing and a quarantine area. 

Here (below), Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, (right) tests one of the many automated hand-sanitizing machines that have been installed at the Norman Manley International Airport to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, as CEO of PAC Kingston, operators of the facility, and Andre Lewis, Operations Manager, PAC Kingston look on.

Norman Manley International Airport, formerly known as Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island 19 kilometers from the center of New Kingston.

Total passenger movements are approximately 1.5 million annually with cargo and mail accounting for over 12 million kilograms. The airport generates over 13,000 direct and indirect jobs with 13 scheduled airlines serving many international destinations, serving both the business and leisure markets.

The airport lies adjacent to Kingston Harbour, the world’s seventh largest natural harbor. It is in close proximity to the commercial and cultural capital city of Kingston (20 minutes). A major economic catalyst for the Kingston Metropolitan Area, the economic activity is valued at an estimated JA $15.2 billion (equivalent to 5.6% of GDP).

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

Jamaica Minister of Tourism Talking Points at Digital Press Briefing

by

The Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, spoke at a digital press briefing today, June 4, 2020, about how the government will reopen after the coronavirus. Here his talking points are shared.

As the government makes plans to reopen the economy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism is taking center stage, and for good reason. The tourism industry is Jamaica’s bread and butter. It is responsible for 9.5% of GDP; contributes 50% of the foreign exchange earnings of the economy; and generates 354,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.

Tourism is big business – 80% of which is small business – the restaurants, craft vendors, tour and transportation operators, attractions, bars, duty-free shops. Due to tourism’s transversal nature and the linkages with other productive sectors, it also stimulates agriculture, manufacturing, and the creative economy.

It is within this context that we are anxious to revive tourism, which has been severely crippled by the pandemic. 

The Ministry of Tourism has calculated the economic fallout.

The estimated loss of direct tourism revenue to the government due to COVID-19 for April 2020 to March 2021 is J$38.4 billion.

The estimated overall loss to the economy from visitor expenditure from stopover arrivals is J$107.6 billion.

You can see, therefore, that the phased reopening of our borders to international travelers on June 15 is not just about tourism. It is a matter of economic life or death.

We need to get the over 350,000 pandemic-displaced workers back to work. We need to provide some salvation to the many tourism enterprises that right now are at severe economic risk.

As I say this, I am mindful of the public sentiment that we are moving too fast, and this will pose a health risk to the Jamaican people. I want to assure you that the reopening will be carried out safely and in a way that protects our frontline tourism workers, Jamaican citizens, and our visitors.  As our Prime Minister stresses, we must continue to protect lives while securing our livelihoods.  

Our government has demonstrated consistency in focus and resolve in containing the pandemic and with excellent results. We do not intend to undo this good work.

Therefore, let me underscore that non-nationals who enter from June 15 will be subject to the same health and risk screening process (temperature checks, symptoms observation) as nationals. 

Based on screening, if assessed to be high risk, they will be required to self-quarantine at their destination until the results are available.  

As announced previously, tourism’s reopening is being guided by a five-point recovery strategy:

  1. Robust health and security protocols that will withstand local and international scrutiny.
  2. Training all sectors to manage protocols and new behavioral pattern moving forward.
  3. Strategies around COVID security infrastructure (PPEs, masks, infrared machines, etc.).
  4. Communication with the local and international markets about reopening.
  5. A staggered approach to reopening/managing risk in a structured way.

The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) collaborated with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to formulate these tourism protocols. 

This follows extensive consultations with local government agencies, particularly the Ministries of Health, National Security, and Foreign Affairs, as well as the private sector, the unions, and other local and international partners. 

In addition, our protocols have received the global endorsement of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

They are designed based on benchmarks of nearly 20 markets in the Caribbean and globally, and international health agencies.

Industry Segments Covered by the Protocols:

  • Hotels
  • Small hotels/guesthouses
  • Attractions
  • Beaches
  • Transportation
  • Shopping
  • Social activities (restaurants and bars)
  • Cruise ports

The fundamental elements of the tourism protocols:

  • Sanitization
  • Face masks and personal protective equipment
  • Physical distancing
  • Clear communications and messaging
  • Digital enablement
  • Real-time health monitoring and reporting
  • Rapid response
  • Training

While implementing these health and safety protocols, we do not want them to overshadow the “heart and soul of Jamaica” that makes us such an attractive destination for visitors and locals alike. In other words, we do not want sanitization and physical distancing to create a sterile culture. We will continue to infuse our warmth and culture in everything we do, to remind the world that this is the #1 place to be. 

As part of our wider work to safeguard the wellbeing of our tourism workers when the sector reopens, my Ministry recently donated 10,000 masks to frontline industry workers. This latest initiative is being undertaken through the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and Tourism Linkages Network.

We are spending just a little over $5 million in this exercise, and we are excited because not only is the initiative facilitating the provision of much-needed protective cover, but is contributing to economic sustainability by generating opportunities for small enterprises to create a cottage industry through the making of masks. Some 22 small entrepreneurs were engaged to make these masks.

Our focus has not only been on safety and security but also the financial protection of the sector.

We are in discussions with Jamaica National and the National Export-Import (EXIM) Bank to examine suitable instruments to enable SMTEs to secure COVID security equipment. 

In addition, the Ministry of Finance will be providing $1.2 billion in COVID-19 tourism grants to support smaller operators in the tourism and related sectors, inclusive of hotels, attractions, and tours, which are registered with the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCO).

Yesterday, we did a fact-finding tour of select properties in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios – Hospiten, Holiday Inn, Sandals Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, Coral Cliff/Margaritaville, Deja Resorts, and Jamaica Inn – to gauge the readiness of the industry for reopening. I am pleased by what I have seen, and I am confident in the reopening of the tourism sector in a manner that is safe and secure for tourism workers, Jamaican citizens, and our visitors.

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

Tourism Resilience means Challenges, Opportunities & Hope: Bartlett speaks out

by

Known to see the world also from out of the box the Hon. Edmund Bartlett is not only the current minister of tourism for Jamaica, but is the brain and founder of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre

COVID-19
Hon. Minister of Tourism, Jamaica: Edmund Bartlett has a message for the global tourism world:

We need no further reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a global shock of epic proportions. Accordingly, I will depart from the morbid and depressing narrative that you have grown accustomed to over the last several weeks and share with you a message of hope and reflection.

I am of the view that The COVID-19 pandemic will easily be the game-changer of this millennium. While the world has witnessed other deadly pandemics in recent history such as the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 and the H1NI outbreak of 2009, never before has a pandemic so quickly and frighteningly rendered countries across the world, so powerless and helpless in such a simultaneous and indiscriminate manner.

Suddenly, all the advanced and seemingly impenetrable technological, scientific and military capabilities that some countries have developed to bolster self-defense and geopolitical supremacy have become useless against this indomitable invisible threat; appropriately called the great equalizer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also reminded us that, in spite of the lines of demarcation that we draw up to separate ourselves in our daily lives such as class, wealth, zip code, job, religion, nationality, there is ultimately ONE HUMAN RACE sharing the same vulnerabilities and locked into the same fight for its survival.

This pandemic has indeed offered a very profound lesson in humility by showing us that, irrespective of development disparities and against the assumption of the supremacy of some countries, all countries have their moments of strength and weakness that will become self-evident at the right time. In an ironic twist of fate, historically embattled and volatile states and regions have become safer grounds, even if only temporarily, in the fight against the COV1D-19 pandemic than many countries that have become global symbols of power, control, and security.

This crisis has also forced us to quickly embrace the norms of the future digitalized economy in which business relationships and transactions will become increasingly mediated by digital technology. This new economic paradigm will provide us with an opportunity to discover new modes of functionality and productivity, allow us to balance mobility with responsibility and will help to generate business models that are more resistant to future public health crises Indeed, the adjustments we are now being forced to make, in terms of shifting to remote services and working remotely, will become the new normal underpinning the ethos of public and private sector organizations in many countries in the post-COV1D-19 era.

This crisis has also provided countries with the opportunity to maximize their full potential by un-tapping hidden sources of strength and resilience. Facing isolation, reduced trade, reduced inbound travel and tourism and the possibility of economic recession due to the interconnectedness of the global economy, many countries have now been forced to discover new sources of competitive advantage and survival which they are now locating within their own national borders and which they have traditionally overlooked or underutilized.

In the end, by forcing countries to be more in-ward looking in responding to and adjusting to the exogenous shocks induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries would have chartered their own path to increased self-reliance which will serve them well in the post-COVID-19 era.
In this moment of darkness, fear and uncertainty, the new vicissitudes of life have also helped many of us to appreciate the things that really matter in life-bonding with children, reconnecting with relatives and loved ones, protecting the elderly, being each other brother’s keepers, sharing with the less fortunate, identifying with the suffering of others, paying closer attention to our diet and health and recognizing the temporality of life.

As we continue to fight this crisis together, we are reminded that we have been here before and like we overcame in the past, so shall we again. How quickly we do so will, however, depend significantly on the extent to which we, as citizens, are able to act selflessly and obey precautionary measures, on the one hand, while the state and the private sector must work collaboratively, on the other hand, to deploy resources and lead initiatives to encourage economic resilience as well to help those who are suffering the greatest.

To this end we must continue to:
• practice social distancing and limit interactions that will increase exposure to infection
• observe regulations about public gatherings
• desist from circulating misinformation or fake news that can contribute to more panic and confusion
• sterilize infrastructure and public facilities.
• Allocate public funds to support the preservation of jobs in both the public and private sector
• Introduce measures that will reduce taxes and financial burden on the poor
• Subsidize necessities for the poor including food, housing, medicine etc.
• Partner with the private sector to transform hotels, hostels and residential rentals into accommodation centers for quarantined or infected persons.
• Revisit our travel and tourism institutional structure
• Prepare plans for public investments
• Closely examine the preparedness of our education and health care systems to respond to future shocks

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

Jamaica: Bartlett, Tufton and Health Officials meet at COVID-19 Emergency Operation Center

by

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton and senior Health Ministry officials today held an impromptu meeting to detail operations of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Emergency Operations Centre in New Kingston and also further tighten coordination between the Health Ministry and the wider tourism sector.

Senior Strategist, Delano Seiveright noted that “Minister Bartlett and the Ministry’s leadership has been working closely with the Ministry of Health over the last several weeks. This was further deepened following Prime Minister Andrew Holness chaired National Disaster Risk Management Council meeting on COVID-19 recently and now established tourism health protocols that have been adopted by all tourism entities. The Protocols cover three basic elements – developing the required infrastructure, providing support to the Ministry of Health and educating all stakeholders about the COVID-19 virus.”

Specially assigned staff-members of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), who are a part of the newly developed Stakeholder Risk Management Unit, will closely monitor the implementation of the protocols.

“Already issues of concern brought to our attention by Tourism stakeholders have been promptly dealt with by the Health Ministry.”, Seiveright further noted.

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

UNWTO Secretary to Headline Conference on Entrepreneurship, Resilience and Innovation

by

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, will be the key speaker at the first ever UNWTO Global Summit on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Resilience Management, which is being hosted in Montego Bay in May.

The visit is Pololikashvili’s first to the region, since being appointed in 2017, following the recommendation of the 105th UNWTO Executive Council.

“We look forward to welcoming him to the Caribbean and having him here for the conference, which will bring together global thought leaders in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience,” said Minister Bartlett.

The UNWTO Global Summit on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Resilience Management will be held on May 28 and coincides with the 65th Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) on May 29. Both key events will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The Regional Commissions meet once a year to allow Member States to maintain ‎contact with each other and with the UNWTO Secretariat between sessions of the bi-annual General ‎Assembly.

Jamaica currently chairs the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) for the biennium 2019-2021.

Since 1975, Jamaica has served as vice-president of the General Assembly on five occasions over the period 1987 – 2011, and has been re-elected twice as a member of the Executive Council, serving as second vice-chair in 2012, first vice chair in 2013 and eventually serving as Chairman of the Executive Council for the period 2014-2015.

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

Tourism Workers’ Pension Act now in Effect

by

Jamaica Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says the appointed date on which the Tourism Workers’ Pension Act came into operation was January 31, 2020, with registration for the scheme to begin soon.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Tourism’s New Kingston offices earlier today, the Tourism Minister said, “This gazetted date sets the stage for the Board of Trustees to conclude the arrangements with the fund manager and the fund administrator.

The framework for the development of regulations is now underway and I am hoping to take this to Parliament tomorrow, but if not, certainly within the first few sittings within the new parliamentary year. ”

The long-awaited Tourism Workers’ Pensions scheme is designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 years in the tourism sector, whether permanent, contract or self-employed.  This includes hotel workers as well as persons employed in related industries, such as craft vendors, tour operators, red cap porters, contract carriage operators and workers at attractions.

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme will receive $1 billion in funding from the Ministry of Tourism, to augment the pool of funds. The Augmented Pension Beneficiaries will be persons who joined the Scheme at 59 years old. With the Ministry’s injection of funds, these persons will qualify for a minimum pension.

He added that, “The regulations will allow for 180 days period for the Augmented Pensions Beneficiaries. After we have designated that, those people will have the opportunity to register. Once they have registered, they will be on and the programme begins with earnest with the ordinary members.”

The pension scheme will see persons contributing an initial 3% of their income for the first three years and then 5% after that – this contribution is then matched by the employer. However, employees have the option of giving up to 15% of their salaries over time.

As part of the Ministry’s awareness efforts, Tourism Workers Pension Sensitizations Sessions will continue this week for The Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, Sangster International Airport, Secrets Montego Bay and Excellence Oyster Bay and Portland on February 27.

The distribution of the fund will be done in tranches, with the first disbursement taking place within this financial year (before the end of March 2020). A formal presentation will be made at a later date.

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

Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre Donates US$100,000 to Bahamas for Hurricane Relief

by

The Jamaican-based Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre on Tuesday donated US$100,000 to the Bahamas. The funds will assist with hurricane relief following the passage of Hurricane Dorian last year, as well as for the development of the Disaster Risk, Resilience & Readiness Assessment in the Caribbean Tourism Sector Study.

Jamaica Tourism Minister and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, made the presentation, during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace taking place in Baha Mar.

The donation, which was presented to the Bahamian Minister of Tourism, Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, is a collaborate effort with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

The donation was drawn from GTRCM’s relief fund supporting tourism-ravaged economies impacted by disruptions including natural disasters and pandemics.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which was first announced in 2017, operates in a global context that is characterized by not only new challenges, but also new opportunities for tourism in an effort to improve the tourism product as well as to ensure the sustainability of tourism globally.

The Centre, which is located at the University of the West Indies, is tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle the recovery process following a disaster. It will also assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods.

Category 5 Hurricane Dorian made impact with the Bahamas last October causing severe flooding and destruction, specifically in the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands.

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

Tourism Ministry to Spend More on Marketing Carnival in Jamaica

by

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry will be increasing investment in developing Carnival in Jamaica as a tourism product, which will be marketed to destinations across the globe.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of Carnival in Jamaica, at the AC Hotel in Kingston, the Minister said, “The Tourism Linkages Network will continue to support Carnival in Jamaica. We are committed to spend more on it, not for events, but to build the product because that is what will be sustainable and lasting.”

He added that, “Events are good, but you cannot market and package events in the same way you can with a product. In tourism, we drive and market products. We package these products as a combination of rooms, air seats and the experience.”

The marketing efforts for last year’s event proved effective, with data from the Jamaica Tourist Board showing that visitor arrivals through Norman Manley International Airport for the respective Easter/Carnival periods between 2018 and 2019 increased by 11.5% from 9,881 to 11,014 visitors.

Additionally, in the few days leading up to the culmination of Carnival in Jamaica, there was an increase in visitor arrivals from NMIA in 2019 of 18.4% over 2018’s Carnival lead up.

For an average of five nights, visitors also spent approximately US$240 per person per night; up from US$236 in 2018.

“Carnival was re-energised in 2017 with one intention in mind – to create a carnival product so that we can market it… This building out of the product will create an economic arrangement that will generate jobs and employment for hundreds of people, which is the bottom line for prosperity from carnival,” said the Minister.

The data highlighted that Carnival in Jamaica, resulted in an increase in economic activity in a myriad of subsectors, such as entertainment and the creative industries, attractions, ground transportation, auto rentals, catering, media, and retail. 

Thirty-three percent of carnival participants visited an attraction, 49% dined out, and 47% participated in nightlife activities.

Kingston hotels were booked to capacity with 30% of carnival patrons staying in hotels. Airbnb was also a beneficiary with 28% opting for homestays and the remainder staying in private homes, villas, guesthouses and apartments.

“We are marketing Jamaica as a destination for music, entertainment, food, and most importantly – for love. That combination now makes Jamaica, the heartbeat of the world. You will hear more about that as we move on, in terms of our marketing arrangements across the globe,” said the Minister. 

He further explained that, “This marketing drive has become a critical component of the architecture and the arrangements that we are making for disseminating ideas and information about Jamaica. This is very important to us because we are looking forward to building the city of Kingston, as the entertainment sector of the Caribbean.

In doing so, we are not competing with Trinidad or other destinations. We are creating something that is authentic, opinionated – something that people would come to Jamaica to experience and to consume and go nowhere else to get.”

Carnival in Jamaica was launched in 2017 and is used as the umbrella brand for all carnival activities, during the carnival period, making it a national product. This is an annual undertaking, which aims to transform the carnival experience locally. It is a key initiative of the Tourism Linkages Network with support from the Jamaica Tourist Board and key stakeholders.

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

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Bartlett named PATWA advisor

by

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has accepted an invitation to become an advisor to international travel writers’ group — Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA).

The invitation was made by the group’s Secretary General, Sagur Ahluwalia last Friday, who shared that the Minister’s rich experience will be beneficial to the organization.

In expressing his gratitude, Minister Bartlett said, “It is an honour to have been selected as an advisor to the prestigious PATWA organization. I offer my services to the organization and hope that we are able to share ideas which will have a positive impact on the growth of tourism both regionally and internationally.”

PATWA is a professional organisation of travel writers which was founded in 1998, at the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Its founding philosophy is to support PATA’s primary objectives of being a catalyst for responsibly developing the travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.

Minister Bartlett was this year awarded the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s (PATWA) Tourism Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism for 2018 in Berlin, Germany
During the awards presentation, Jamaica also received PATWA’s International Travel Award for Destination of the Year.

The awards recognised ¬individuals and organisations that have excelled and/or are involved in the promotion of ¬tourism from different sectors of the travel trade and service ¬providers related directly or indirectly to the industry.

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

Travel News | eTurboNews

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Bartlett pumps J$200 million into Linkages Networks

by

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has committed J$200 million to the Linkages Networks to help build out more products to enhance the visitor experience and ensure more inclusive growth in the sector.

Speaking at the launch of the new Top Events Jamaica Initiative yesterday at Devon House, Minister Bartlett said, “This year, we will be spending 200 Million dollars on the Networks to create the level of inclusiveness that connects the ordinary Jamaican to the tourism product and the product to the ordinary Jamaican.

This will be a huge game changer and we are going to change the narrative and also change the feeling of the public that tourism is only for the bigger suppliers and doesn’t include the smaller players.”

The Tourism Linkages Network’s (TLN’s) main focus has been to bring local tourism suppliers in contact with other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. In doing so, the Linkages Network creates more economic opportunities for our local tourism suppliers who can then earn more.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (1st R) paused for a photo at the track and field display at the launch of the new Top Events Jamaica Initiative yesterday at Devon House

Driving this inclusive growth are five networks geared towards building out authentic Jamaican experiences for the visitors and increasing the earning potential of small suppliers and they are – Gastronomy, Sports and Entertainment, Shopping, Knowledge and Health and Wellness.

The new Top Events Jamaica initiative, being spearheaded by the TLN, is designed to increase visitor participation in events and activities island-wide through strategic partnerships and leveraging the power of technology, social media, and advertising.

In highlighting the importance of this new platform, Minister Bartlett, said, “Top Events will place all our best entertainment products and offerings under one roof. In doing so we are allowing visitors and locals alike to chance to find these offerings with the click of a button. Top events will be a critical element that brings together our authentic Jamaican entertainment products under one roof through the use of technology.

This type of interface is critical in the age of technology especially given that entertainment forms a large part of why people travel and as such there is value in building out more products of this nature to drive arrivals and growth in the sector.”

The Top Events initiative will include a microsite and an easy to use mobile app to increase visitor awareness and participation in the over 900 events held in Jamaica each month. To qualify for listing on Top Events, event organizers must meet the predetermined criteria outlined by the TLN that guarantees continuity in the content delivery and effective data capture.

The TLN’s Sports and Entertainment Network (SEN) will be the driving force behind Top Events Jamaica and the body ultimately responsible for the final selection of “Top Events” to be added to the event calendar.

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

Travel News | eTurboNews