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Bartlett: Tourism driving economic growth through events and experiential activities

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Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica’s tourism industry has benefitted tremendously from the recent staging of mega culinary and entertainment festivals.

In the month of March, Jamaica hosted its second annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, the inaugural Jamaica Rum Festival as well as the much-anticipated Buju Banton Long Walk to Freedom concert. Each event saw thousands of patrons, with many visiting from overseas.


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“I am very happy to announce that tourism arrivals have been impacted positively in March, from these mega-festivals. They provided an opportunity for us to broaden the market by bringing more people to the destination to meet a variety of passion points which embody the very best of our food, culture and music,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also noted that preliminary figures indicate that arrivals for Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, last Friday, ahead of Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom concert, show that 2,434 foreign nationals visited. This represents a 143% increase over the same period last year.

The data from the Jamaica Tourist Board also shows that 7,389 foreign nationals arrived into Montego Bay on Friday, which is a 58% increase over the same day last year.

“The arrivals over the weekend have been very strong and as an industry we are ecstatic. Our focus on our core tourist arrivals remains on strong footing from our key source markets. Since the start of the year, as at yesterday we have receive 72,999 more visitors than last year overt the same period,” said the Minister.

MEDIA CONTACT: Alyssa Taffe, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Tourism, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: (876) 920-4926-30, Mobile: (876) 441-5055, Fax: (876) 906 1729

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness breaks ground for Closed Harbour Beach Park

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Habour closed JamaicaPrime Minister, the Most Hon Andrew Holness (C) and Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett (3rd L) participated in the official ground breaking ceremony for the Closed Harbour Beach project in Montego Bay today. Joining the moment are (L-R) Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Dr. Carey Wallace, Mr. Winston Dear, Chairman Montego Bay Advisory Council, Ms. Heather Pinnock, Acting General Manager of the UDC, Attorney General Mrs. Marlene Malahoo Forte, Senator Ransford Braham, Chairman of the UDC, Hon Godfrey Dyer, Chairman of the TEF, Hon Dr. Horace Chang, Minister of National Security and Hon Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. Closed Harbour Beach Park will include the creation of a beach futsal and multipurpose court, basketball and netball courts, kids play area, food kiosks and outdoor dining area as well as a waterfront rehabilitation component.

Construction of the highly anticipated Closed Harbour Beach Park in Montego Bay will begin following the official groundbreaking by Prime Minister, the Most Hon Andrew Holness yesterday.

The project, which is being primarily funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and executed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), will be the largest transformative development for the parish and largest of its kind in the Caribbean.

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In addressing stakeholders at the Closed Harbour site, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, “Montego Bay has a special place in Jamaica and it represents the essence of what it is to be Jamaican with its enterprise, industry and creativity,

This city can become the pearl of the Caribbean and we are making the necessary investments and through development, rule of law and public order this can become a reality.”

Prime Minister Holness added, “As the government undertakes this project, i want to assure the citizens of St. James that we will not allow the tourism industry to grow without including you,

The Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, is the biggest advocate for pensions, training and development and ensuring the profits of the sector redound to the people and this project will be one such example.”

Closed Harbour Beach Park is estimated to cost J$1.296Billion and will include extensive work to create a beach futsal and multipurpose court, basketball and netball courts, kids play area, food kiosks and outdoor dining area.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, in highlighting the significance of this project, said “Closed harbour is at the core of what Jamaica’s tourism is about and that is to enhance and develop our products which will be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. It forms part of our overall vision to reimage tourism in Jamaica,

We are committed to building out these types of spaces because our first obligation is to our people to ensure they have access to the best beaches and experiences such as these.”

Minister Bartlett added, “There’s no doubt that the Closed Harbour Beach Park will be the most transformative development for Montego Bay and we are going to carry out the vision of re-imaging Montego Bay as a premier destination under the direction of our Prime Minister.”

Minister of National Security, Hon Dr. Horace Chang stated that the project represents “Integrated development and will signal the new Montego Bay.”

Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis said, “This closed harbour beach is for the people of Montego Bay and people of Jamaica. I am pleased to be Mayor at this time to witness this important development that will benefit so many.”

The UDC will act as project managers for the project which will also see a waterfront rehabilitation component. This will include rehabilitating the groynes that were created in the 1970s that have since been eroded.

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister in talks with potential Israeli investors

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Bartlett in talks with potential Israeli investors

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says major hotel brands in Israel have expressed interest in investing in Jamaica and are expected to visit the island soon.

“I am very happy to share that our meetings in the Mediterranean have been very fruitful. We have met with a number of hoteliers including the luxury brand Brown Hotels. Their properties are a very trendy group, similar to the Hard Rock brand, and I am sure it will be a great addition to our Kingston or Montego Bay offerings,’ said the Minister.

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Brown Hotels is a rapidly-expanding global boutique hotel brand with roots in Tel Aviv. Conceived by native Israelis, Leon Avigad & Nitzan Perry with partner Nir Waizman. Their properties include four hotels in Tel Aviv, two in Jerusalem and one in Croatia.

The Minister also noted that the investors have accepted his invitation to visit Jamaica, and should be in attendance at the upcoming Jamaica Rum Festival.

The Festival, which will take place at place at Hope Gardens on March 9 and 10, is being presented by J. Wray & Nephew Limited’s Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum brand in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). It aims to promote brand Jamaica, boost tourism in Kingston and showcase Jamaica’s cultural excellence in rum, food and music.

“I am looking forward to continuing our discussions when the team arrives in Kingston next month. I am also excited that they will get an opportunity to attend this major food festival we will be hosting in Kingston. This is a potentially big find and they are ready for the Caribbean particularly Jamaica because of our music and rum which are so appealing to young people,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister is currently in Israel to participate in the Annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market event.

The International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2019) is an annual tourism event that brings together professionals and service providers from the tourism industry and introduces new attractions and tourist destinations.

The Minister is expected to return to the island on February 18.

PM, Bartlett welcome return of EP hotel model to Jamaica

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Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett have welcomed the return of the EP (European Plan) model of hotels as part of the expanding tourism industry.

Sunday’s official opening of S Hotel along Montego Bay’s Hip Strip was the first significant hotel of its kind to open its doors using this model, in more than three decades. Large all-inclusive hotels make up about 80 percent of resort destination’s room stock.

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Minister Bartlett described S Hotel as special “because the S is bringing back the model of tourism that has escaped us for a while, the EP model which offers an opportunity for more involvement and more participation

This sentiment was endorsed by Prime Minister Holness who said, “We must find ways to make tourism inclusive and beneficial to all the people of Jamaica.”

According to Prime Minister Holness, the strategy for tourism must be to ensure connectivity with the rest of the economy. He said, “The benefit of tourism must be shared with the people, because all tourism is, if you take away the block and steel, it is the people, it is the culture, it is our music, it is our language, it is our dance. It is all of that put together to form a package that distinguishes us from the rest of the world that makes people want to come here and enjoy.”

The Prime Minister expressed the view that the industry must create an instrumental approach to ensuring that the benefits are shared. “Buy more Jamaican, employ more Jamaicans as entertainers; put them in your package, make people see them because that is what is going to create the value for your product,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Bartlett was elated “that tourism in Jamaica is outstanding,” stating that the new hotel signalled the start of a momentous week for tourism in Jamaica “because the opening of this very critical addition to the room stock and more so the variety of offering that we are providing in the accommodation subsector, begins a week of tourism celebration and marketing.

Outlining several activities planned, he said Jamaica would take centre stage Monday night at the World Travel Awards and Tuesday morning “we welcome the world with the second Global Conference on Job Creation and Inclusive Growth with emphasis on small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs).”

Sunday’s opening of S Hotel was also attended by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen; former prime ministers P.J. Patterson and Portia Simpson Miller; Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips and Opposition Spokesman on Tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeil.