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Jamaica to invest $66 million in the next 3 years on development of Health and Wellness Tourism

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Jamaica Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that over the next 3 years, the Tourism Linkages Network intends to invest JM$66 million, to develop Jamaica’s Health and Wellness Tourism product.

Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony for the inaugural Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference, the Minister noted that, “Jamaica has a genesis in Health and Wellness as a tourism industry, and we want to drive that and spend more time on building it out. Therefore, we will be spending $22 million annually, over the next three years to assist this process.”

The Network will also be working in partnership with industry stakeholders to help Jamaicans create accredited market ready health and wellness tourism services, based on their knowledge of traditional uses of endemic herbs and plants.

“Jamaica has been famous for all these oils that come from our ‘bush’ or herbs. But for us to be able to leverage all of that cultural heritage so that it can have an enormous impact in the tourism space, will be a huge development,” said the Minister.

The Tourism Minister pointed to studies, which have identified to-date, 334 plants growing in Jamaica that can be used for medicinal purposes, with the unofficial list being 366.

“Of these plants, 193 have been tested for bioactivity and crude extracts from samples of these have identified natural products, which are bioactive.

31 of these plants tested were endemic to Jamaica, which possesses the ideal conditions for cultivation of a wide variety of medicinal herbs, more so that 60% of the world’s major medicinal herbs are currently grown in Jamaica,” he said.

This focus on Health and Wellness forms part of the Ministry of Tourism’s mission to expand tourism beyond the traditional “sand, sea and sun” concept. 

“Research has also shown that health and wellness tourism represents one of the fastest growing travel segments. Therefore, we must find ways to better support the enhancement and development of Jamaica’s health and wellness product,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Health and Wellness Network, headed by acclaimed scientist Dr. Henry Lowe, has been working with partners to develop an effective governance framework to make Jamaica’s wellness industry more internationally competitive.

The Network will also be packaging, promoting and marketing health and wellness assets as an important tourism niche area.

The Jamaica Health and Wellness Conference took place at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from November 20 – 21, 2019. It brought together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Health and Wellness Tourism.

Discussions focused on global health and wellness tourism data and insights; Wellness travel experiences; Nutraceuticals; Herbaceuticals; Medical tourism; and the Health and Wellness Tourism value chain.

The Tourism Linkages Network, which is a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, organized the event with the assistance of key industry partners.  It is the first event of its kind to take place in the island.

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

Jamaica to host TD Jakes Caribbean Leadership Conference

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Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says internationally acclaimed Bishop TD Jakes is looking at staging his flagship leadership conference in Jamaica next year.

The announcement was made at a special brunch, organized by Jamaica Vacations at Royalton Resort, for Bishop Jakes who docked in Trelawny with over 1800 guests as part of his Faith and Family Caribbean Cruise.

Thomas Dexter Jakes, more popularly known as TD Jakes, is a pastor, author and film maker. As pastor of the Potter’s House, Bishop TD Jakes’ conferences draw over 30,000 people.

“As Jamaica continues to diversify its product offerings to suit the passion points of our visitors, developing faith based tourism is high on our priority list. Many people travel for religious reasons.

I am therefore honoured that Bishop TD Jakes has indicated his interest to host his mega conference in Jamaica which will attract thousands locally and overseas,” said Minister Bartlett.

It is estimated by the World Tourism Organization, that 300 to 330 million people travel for religious purposes every year.

Bishop TD Jakes’ church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on The Potters Touch, which airs on lightsource.com, the Trinity Broadcast Network, Black Entertainment Television, the Daystar Television Network and the Word Network.

“We are excited about the possibilities of having some events in Jamaica that i think would be of interest not only to Jamaicans.

We are interested in leadership development, where business and faith can collaborate to create a more wholesome atmosphere,” said Bishop TD Jakes.

Minister Bartlett added that, “Jamaica will be the ideal location for this mega conference given the island’s Christian and religious culture.”

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

Jamaica’s First Artisan Village to Be Ready before Year End

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica’s first artisan village is on target to open before the end of 2019. The project is being constructed at the Hampden Wharf in Falmouth.

Speaking today at a tour of the facilities the Minister said, “I am very proud of the progress we have made so far with this project and look forward to more Jamaicans being able to benefit from our very lucrative tourism industry as a result of the development.”

The Artisan Village will be a “one stop shop” for authentic Jamaican food, music, heritage and craft.  It is being designed to showcase the best of the island, while enhancing interaction between visitors and locals.

The Minister noted that this will be one of five Artisan Villages in resort areas across the island. They will provide an avenue for Jamaican artists and craft persons to expose and express their creativity, while limiting the volume of imported craft items that are being sold in the industry.

The Tourism Enhancement Fund financed project forms part of the wider Hampden Wharf Development project, which is now 85 percent complete.

The Hampden Wharf Development project is a collaborative effort between the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and the Urban Development Corporation, and is being implemented to transform the town of Falmouth. 

The project features: Extension of the Port connecting the locals with visitors; Paved surfaces with mixed textures and defined paths; Landscaped areas; Story boards where applicable; Adaptive reuse of historic buildings; Rich mix of retail and local eateries; craft and history.

It will also feature restaurants, an entertainment center and shops in an inviting environment that the Minister says will harmonize with the development at the pier.

Once completed it is expected to create an environment to accommodate local small enterprises and other businesses from the town.

“The Hampden Wharf Development is a mega infrastructure project that will reposition the town of Falmouth as one of the Caribbean’s premier cruise destinations.

It 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… It will also provide a secure, safe and seamless operation for visitors and locals alike,” said the Minister.

The Hampden Wharf Development will be open to visitors and locals and will embrace heritage assets like the wharf building, the Dome Foundry and Tharpe House.

During the tour, Vice President of the Port Authority of Jamaica, Mervin Edgehill and a team of tourism officials, accompanied the Minister.

For more information about Jamaica, click here.

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

Prime Minister Holness encourages more investments in Jamaica’s tourism product

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Prime Minister Holness is inviting more investors to tap into development opportunities in Jamaica, particularly in the tourism industry as he believes the trajectory of the value of the industry is going to take off rapidly.

“The opportunities here are great. We’re now in that phase where we are seeking to re-imagine Jamaica’s tourism as a high-value, high-quality destination. We have all the elements to achieve that and we are working towards it. Now is the time for investors to get in because the trajectory of the value of the industry is going to take off rapidly,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on Friday at the Ameterra Group’s groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an 800-room resort in Stewart Castle, Trelawny. This will be followed by another 400 rooms in the second phase and over time will see an estimated 8,000 hotel rooms to be constructed on the 1,000-acre property.

It is being developed by former North Trelawny Member of Parliament Keith Russell, his wife, Paula; and international partners, Tourism & Leisure Development International owner, Francisco Fuentes, along with Rexton Capital Partners Limited’s owners Mustapha Deria and Guillermo Velasco.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw also shared that investment opportunities also exist within the agriculture industry.

Amaterra Group Chairman, Keith Russell (second left) explains his development plans for the Amaterra Group’s first hotel site to Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre), Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, Fisheries and Investments, Hon Audley Shaw (left), Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett; and Amaterra Group Chairman, Paula Russell. The occasion was the ground-breaking ceremony for Ameterra Group’s construction of an 800-room resort in Stewart Castle, Trelawny on Friday April 12, 2019.

“A few miles from here, the Government has 13,000 acres of land that used to be in sugar…Applications are flowing in for thousands of acres and those 13,000 acres by the end of this year must be in full production,” said Minister Shaw.

The Prime Minister lamented, however, that while the country is ripe for investments, the existing bureaucracy often makes it difficult for investments to happen seamlessly.

“The public bureaucracy does not always understand or is empathetic to the speed of business. They operate on two different timelines and they take into consideration, non-commercial things that sometimes add a burden, which is not just frustrating but has real costs to doing business,” said the Prime Minister.

He went on to share that, “It takes the overarching leadership of the country to ensure that the rules are created and are such that they encourage business at the speed of thought, and that is where Jamaica is heading. Everything that I have done so far as Prime Minister is to challenge the institutional thinking that has kept us from growing and I will continue to challenge it because it needs to be done.”

Creating a More Inclusive Tourism Industry

The Prime Minister also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to create a culture of inclusion in the industry so that more Jamaicans will feel they benefit from the rapidly growing and lucrative industry.

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett shared these sentiments, adding that his Ministry is focusing on creating an industry which “involves the integration of more communities. One of the visions is to establish a tourism integration development arrangement that will be embodied in something called a Tourism Innovation City.”

The Tourism Minister added that the objective of the innovation city is to enable the hotel/attraction to become ‘the fulcrum around which the economic and social development of the entire communities around it is predicated.

When he [Keith Russell] spoke about the Group’s integrated approach to bring agriculture, manufacturing, BPO, retail, attractions of various kinds within that frame – is in fact to establish fully what the thinking of this concept is about.”

It was noted that the first 1,200 rooms of the Amaterra project will yield 3,200 direct employees and another 2,000 indirect employees.

The completed Amaterra Group project will include resorts, entertainment facilities, theme parks, a pedestrian town centre, manufacturing facilities and special economic zones.

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

Bartlett hosts successful community meeting with Jamaican Diaspora in the UK

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says his recent meeting with key members of the Jamaican Diaspora in London was very successful.

Speaking at a community meeting, held at the Jamaican High Commission in London, United Kingdom, yesterday, Minister Bartlett spoke of the importance and impact of the UK and global diaspora on the economy of Jamaica. He also commented that nobody can promote and advocate for Jamaica better than Jamaicans living around the world.

With visitor figures for January – March 2019 already outperforming the previous period in 2018 by 13 per cent, Minister Bartlett updated the diaspora community on the island’s key tourism developments for the year ahead including 10,000 additional rooms by the end of 2020.

He also highlighted the new graduate school for hospitality management and tourism and the wider upskilling programs and qualification opportunities for Jamaicans on the island, to continue to grow the direct economic benefits for the workers of the tourism industry first hand.

“Making up 10 per cent of all arrivals into Jamaica each year, and with one in five workers in the Caribbean employed by tourism, it’s important that we do not underestimate its penetration because if we do, we will lose sight of the fact that almost everyone in Jamaica has their being and sustenance connected to tourism.

Working closely with our diaspora communities around the world is vital to promoting our unique tourism message and we value them as advocates and ambassadors hugely,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett also talked in detail about the importance of the recently launched Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica. A first of its kind, the Centre offers a global tourism resource dedicated to research and analysis on destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions or crises around the world which is being pioneered at the University of the West Indies.

Minister Bartlett, who represented Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness at the Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Annual reception in London, returned to the island today.

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