World News | forimmediaterelease.net

... press releases & Breaking World News

Minister Bartlett addresses global tourism leaders at 2019 World Travel and Tourism Council

by

As a part of a panel of the 2019 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), held on Tuesday, June 11 in New York City, Minister of Tourism, Honorable Minister Edmund Bartlett spoke about the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and how private-public partnerships serve as catalysts for economic growth and the transformation of local communities in tangible ways.

Minister Bartlett, who participated in a panel discussion titled “From Doing CSR to Being CSR,” said, “CSR must seek to create the balance between the idea of ‘me,’ and the definition of ‘we,’.” The Minister added, “In Jamaica we are working closely with our private sector partners to ensure that the ‘we,’ – meaning the residents of Jamaica – will experience the benefits of social and economic resilience. From our point of view, CSR is about enhancing and improving the quality of our lives locally.”


eTN Chatroom for Readers (join us)

Minister Bartlett has been an ardent supporter of engaging the private sector to advance the sustainable development of tourism in Jamaica and globally. Under his leadership, Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism has formed private-public partnerships and alliances that span a range of sectors, including transportation, agriculture, health and wellness, manufacturing, and small business. Some of these partnerships have taken the form of foreign direct investment, particularly in the area of accommodation.

In Jamaica and across the Caribbean, several international resorts are engaging in CSR practices in areas such as community outreach, housing renovations and donations to local schools. In Jamaica, Sandals Resorts is an example of how the private sector can take CSR one step further – beyond corporate philanthropy – by developing sustainable projects with direct linkages to local communities.

GOT NEWS? click here

possible to reach millions worldwide
Google News, Bing News, Yahoo News, 200+ publications

For example, Sandals Resorts has been working with local Jamaican farmers by donating seeds, and then offering a direct market for the reaped produce. In fact, 90 percent of all produce used in Jamaica is procured locally. Sandals Resorts is also investing in climate-related agricultural training at trade schools and in university programs across the country.

“The people of Jamaica are seeing the benefits of these CSR models, and so we are committed to expanding these social enterprise initiatives with our private sector partners to enhance Jamaica’s capacity to derive more from the growth of tourism in our country,” said Minister Bartlett.

The WTTC represents the travel and tourism private sector globally. Its members include more than 170 CEOs, Chairmen and Presidents of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism companies from all geographies, covering all industries.

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

New Artisan Village part of Tourism Inclusive Growth Strategy

by

Jamaia Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the artisan village being constructed at Hampden Wharf in Trelawny forms part of the overall inclusive growth strategy to increase earnings among local suppliers.

The US $5.7 million project will have 47 shops along with the establishment of the island’s first artisan village which will accommodate 18 shops along 540 square metres.

Speaking at a recent walk through of the construction, Minister Bartlett highlighted the key role of the facility in creating more earning opportunities for local small and medium businesses.

“The artisan village will connect immediately the market or visitors with our products. When visitors come off the ship, they will be able to go straight to the artisan village and walk away with a piece of authentic Jamaican culture,” said Minister Bartlett.

The project sits on 1.6 hectares of land along the historic Falmouth Port and is being executed by the Port Authority of Jamaica and the Urban Development Company. 

“This artisan village is critical in our reimagining exercise where we are providing opportunities for entrepreneurship at the very base of the population. Tourism will be made more meaningful to the average Jamaican when access is provided for income generating activities and also for creative production.

This is a new and exciting opportunity for various levels of producers in the country that we have not paid enough attention to and not provided arrangements for. The artisan village will also provide a secure, safe and seamless operation for visitors and locals alike,” added Minister Bartlett.

The artisan village is slated to be ready by the end of the year to coincide with the start of the traditional winter tourist season in December.

For more information, contact:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Fax: (876) 906 1729

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister charges CHICOS to encourage investment in experiences

by

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says for the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS) to be truly relevant to the region it must look beyond investments in accommodation and encourage investment in experiential marketing arrangements that will keep the Caribbean competitive and cutting edge at all times.

Minister Bartlett pointed out that while 15,000 rooms are to be constructed in the next five years, “the essence of tourism for the Caribbean is not about building more rooms, it is about building the capacity of the region to absorb the demand that tourism brings.”

“This capacity resides in our ability to invest more in the experiences that are consumed by the visitor because those experiences tend to be local and these local experiences are owned by the people of the region. It is that ownership of the indigenous experiences that allows for the retention of the dollar in our space,” he noted.

The Tourism Minister was giving the main address at the CHICOS press launch yesterday (May 7) at the Terra Nova Hotel, Kingston. The conference, considered a must-attend annual event for anyone interested in tourism and hospitality in the Caribbean, will be held from November 14-15 at Secrets Resorts in Montego Bay.

Pointing out that people travel to fulfil their passions, Minister Bartlett noted that 88% of the world travels for food experiences and 42% of travelers’ total expenditure is on food while 67% of the world travels for shopping experiences. Health and wellness, sport and entertainment and knowledge were some of the other passion points that motivate people to travel.

“So I want to encourage you in planning the conference to pitch the supply side – what the tourist consumes when they get to the destination. Hotel rooms and accommodation are only the places where visitors sleep. The tourist does not travel to sleep. So sleeping is not the issue; the issue is experiences,” Minister Bartlett said, noting that this was how the Ministry was able to increase the tourism dollar retention from 30% to 40.8% in the last three and a half years.

In his address, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agricultural, Hon. Floyd Green said that while the tourism sector continues to show rapid annual growth, there have also been deliberate and prioritized key initiatives to facilitate local and foreign direct investments to drive growth of the Jamaican economy, including the tourism sector.

One of these initiatives is the National Investment Policy (NIP), which once finalized will act as a comprehensive policy framework to guide the development, administration and monitoring of the investment community. The other initiatives are implementation of the National Business Portal (NBP), an online platform that will house the Business-to-Government (B2G) online interface for all Government entities involved in the investment or business facilitation process as well as a drive to achieve a Top 10 rank in the 2021 Doing Business Report (DBR).

The two-day conference will bring together some 300 regional and international delegates, including governmental representatives, developers, bankers, tourism officials, hotel industry leaders, to explore possibilities for hospitality development in Jamaica and in the wider Caribbean.

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is a planning partner for the conference along with AM Resorts, HVS Global Hospitality Services and Apple Leisure Group. Sponsors include the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

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 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

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister: Use art for community renewal

by

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has challenged the local art community to take art out of the educational institutions and art galleries and into Jamaica’s inner city communities as a vehicle of social and economic renewal.

“We need to consider new and innovative approaches to bring art out of Edna Manley into the wider community and bring art out of the Nation Gallery into Trench Town and into Barret Town and Granville and some of the harsher inner city areas,” Minister Bartlett said.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony for internationally acclaimed Jamaican artist Bryan McFarlane’s “New Beginnings” exhibition and the official launch of the Gene Pearson Gallery at The R Hotel, New Kingston, on the weekend.

Internationally acclaimed Jamaican artist Professor Bryan McFarlane (2nd left) discusses his abstract “Like The Weather When It’s Gray” with (l-r) Canada’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Laurie Peters; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith; R Hotel owner Evan Williams; and Head of Chancery, Nigerian High Commission in Jamaica, Mrs. Anthonia Akunne. The occasion was the closing ceremony for Professor Bryan’s “New Beginnings” exhibition and the opening of the Gene Pearson Gallery at The R Hotel, New Kingston, on Saturday, April 13.

Reiterating a commitment given earlier this month to disburse J$300 million to 63 communities across the country to boost Community Tourism, Minister Bartlett encouraged Jamaica’s artists to use some of the money to develop creative placements in these communities.

Expanding on the idea, he said, “The concept of creative placement might be something that we can borrow. The United States does it quite well by utilizing relic buildings, underused and abandoned playing fields and almost every facility that seems lacking in its asset value within communities to become creative placement centers. It gives a sense of pride and creates a feeling of cultural connection.”

Minister Bartlett said he would like to see the transforming effect that art and culture has on the lives of people demonstrated. “While we reflect on the beauty of this exhibition and the aesthetics that will fill our hearts as we move around, I want us to use this opportunity to think beyond the art. Let us think development, let us think transformation, let us think innovation and see if there is another remedy for the social disruptions that we are having in our communities across Jamaica,” he concluded.

Paraphrasing French poet Gaston Bachelard, Professor Bryan McFarlane said there is immensity in minuteness and “Jamaica, the place where I have most been inspired throughout my life, is immense.”

He encouraged patrons to look at his art and see the “immense kind of spaces and ideas and metaphors and images that are there and try to read them with your heart and institution.”

Professor McFarlane teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in the United States. He has exhibited his work at numerous museums and lectured as a visiting artist at universities throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and has won numerous awards.

The 14 pieces exhibited, constituting watercolors and oil on linen, were from McFarlane’s collections and touched on themes when he lived in China, Turkey and Africa.

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

Travel News | eTurboNews