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Minister Bartlett bats for regional tourism investment

November 15, 2019 by PressEditor

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has reiterated his call on tourism investors to look beyond developing hotels while batting for regional tourism investment.

In a jovial welcome to some 300 investors from across globe gathered for the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS) at Secrets Wild Orchid Resort Wednesday night [November 13, 2019], Minister Bartlett made a pitch for them to invest in the heavily tourism dependent Caribbean region, but more so in Jamaica.

He expressed happiness at having them “here in Jamaica for us to talk a little bit about investment but more so to leave some contracts behind. We want to make sure that some new properties are established in the region.”

He said given that the Caribbean is the most tourism dependent region in the world, “This meeting of investors is of tremendous importance to us because what you’re doing is helping to enhance the wellbeing of the Caribbean by forcing investment in the key area that is driving the economy of the region.”

Through such investment, said Minister Bartlett, they would be helping to create jobs, to enable stability but more so, build the capacity of the people of the region to offer more.

He anticipated the two-day summit being spent “looking carefully not just as investment in the traditional sense … but I want us to look beyond rooms because for tourism to become truly inclusive and to enable the development and the enrichment of the people of the region, we have to invest on the supply side.” He reinforced that unless there was a building of the capacity to absorb the demand that tourism brings, “then tourism will be a negative industry in the region.”

Minister Bartlett noted that the region was both a heavy driver of foreign exchange as well as a heavy user and “and unless we create the linkages to stop the leakages of foreign exchange then the region will be poorer for tourism instead of being richer and so investment discussions must be to enrich the Caribbean and to create for us the opportunities to realize our best selves and to earn and achieve prosperity.”

Meanwhile, President of JAMPRO, Diane Edwards said apart from CHICOS there was no other major event in the Caribbean that focusses on investment in tourism. She said the Caribbean has long been an outstanding tourism destination “but we have not focused so much on the business side of things and that would be done over the next two days.”

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw also welcomed the CHICOS delegates, noting that there were linkages between his portfolio responsibilities and tourism.

Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Minister of Tourism for St Lucia, Dominique Fedee and Bahamas Tourism Minister, Dionisio D’Aguilar also joined Minister Bartlett in wooing the tourism investors.

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

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Filed Under: Travel & Tourism Tagged With: Caribbean, CHICOS, Investment, regional, Regional tourism, tourism, Tourism investors

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett

July 26, 2019 by PressEditor

The unprecedented levels of sargassum seaweed that washed up on Caribbean beaches in 2018 resulted in estimated clean-up costs of US$120 million, according to Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

In addition to costly removal, tourism stakeholders have become increasingly concerned about the seaweed’s unsightly appearance, visitor complaints and the possibility of reputational damage, the Tourism Minister noted.

“As active stakeholders in the sector we understand the inestimable value of tourism to stable and prosperous Caribbean economies.  Tourism remains the single most important catalyst of sustained economic livelihoods in the region,” Minister Bartlett said in opening remarks at the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum today (July 26) at the University of the West Indies’ Region Headquarters, Mona.

The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region of the world, where it is the main economic sector in 16 out of 18 Caribbean states and supports close to 3 million jobs.

Noting forecasts of a 12% growth in tourist arrivals to the region for 2019, Minister Bartlett said, “Despite these promising indicators and its (tourism’s) historical resilience, we remain well aware that the tourism sector is very fragile and prone to disruptive elements.  The last ten years have witnessed an evolution of the threats facing the sector.  These threats have become more unpredictable and more devastating in their impact and certainly more difficult to manage.”

Sargassum is one such threat.  Accordingly, the GTRCM saw an urgent need to facilitate the coming together of regional tourism and environmental stakeholders to share ideas, best practices and possible solutions to the adverse effects sargassum in having on national and regional economies.

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett
Professor Lloyd Waller (left), Executive Director, Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM); Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Minister of Tourism and GTRCM Co-Chair, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right) discuss the sargassum threat to Caribbean tourism during the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum at the University of the West Indies Region Headquarters, Mona.

Since 2011, thick mats of seaweed have increased in density to generate an 8850-kilometer-long belt (weighing 20 million metric tons) known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that extends from West Africa to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Scientists believe this algal explosion in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea could signify a new normal. 

The sargassum phenomenon is believed to be driven by a combination of man-made and natural factors, including climate change and increased sea surface temperature; change in regional winds and ocean current patterns; and an increased supply of nutrients from rivers, sewage and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

In the open seas, sargassum provides critical habitats for marine and bird life.  However, when it inundates beaches it rots and smells, becoming an environmental and economic nuisance.  Tourism on Mexico’s Caribbean Coast dropped an estimated 35% in 2018 due to sargassum washing up on the 480-kilometer-long stretch of otherwise pristine beaches.

Minister Bartlett told local and overseas participants at the GTRCM Roundtable that a strong regional response at both the political and technical level is urgently required to address this rapidly evolving sargassum problem.

“The effective countering of this threat will require the different nations’ governments coming together to conduct research, mitigate contributing factors, identify global best practices in adaptation strategies and develop a comprehensive scientific initiative to establish the most efficient ways to collect the sargassum in the open sea without harming the ecosystem,” said the Tourism Minister.

Presentations were made by Andres Bisono Leon and Luke Grey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Precision Engineering Research Group; Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Marion Sutton, Oceanographer and Project Manager, Collecte Localisation Satellites, France.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30

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Filed Under: Travel & Tourism Tagged With: Caribbean Sea, GTRCM, million, Mona, regional, sargassum, tourist

African Tourism Board: The Need for Greater Industry Synergy in West Africa

June 24, 2019 by PressEditor

The 2019 IATA’s Regional Aviation Forum is being held at the Marriott Hotel in Accra, Ghana. On Tuesday Alain St.Ange, President of the African Tourism Board and the former Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine Minister of Seychelles will be moderating a session titled “West and Central Africa as Preferred Tourism Destination: The Need for Greater Industry Synergy”. Participants at the  African Tourism Board session include the Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Ghana; Hon. M. Siandou Fofana, Minister of Tourism, Cote D’Ivoire  ; Ms. Gloria Yirenkyi, Country Manager, South African Airways; Bankole Bernard, President, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents; Mr. Ikechi Uko, Publisher, Africa Travel Quarterly; Mr. Sean Mendis, Chief Operations Officer, Africa World Airline.

Under the theme “Aviation: Business for Regional Prosperity”, this high-caliber IATA event is bringing together distinguished aviation decision makers and influencers, representing Governments, regulatory agencies, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, tourism organizations, international and regional organizations, aviation suppliers and aircraft manufacturers from Africa, the Middle East and globally.

Ghana Minister of Aviation, Honourable Joseph Kofi Adda and IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa & Middle East, Muhammad Ali Albakri, together with other senior IATA executives and aviation industry experts are hosting the event in this West African Country.

The African Tourism Board currently is taking lead as the fastest growing travel and tourism organization on the continent. Founded in 2018, the African Tourism Board an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to the African region.

ATB President St. Ange told Africa on Africa day on May 25, that  African Tourism Board is ready to unite Africa through tourism.

Information on membership in the African Tourism Board can be found at www.africantourismboard.com/join 

MEDIA CONTACT: TravelMarketingNetwork, 954 Lexington Ave. #1037, New York, NY 10021 USA, PH: (+1) 718-374-6816, [email protected]   

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Filed Under: African Tourism Board, Travel & Tourism Tagged With: board, IATA, Industry, minister, regional, tourism

African Tourism Board President will speak at the IATA Regional Aviation Forum in Ghana

May 25, 2019 by PressEditor

The African Tourism Board knows the importance of connectivity for the growing travel and tourism industry to the continent.  African Tourism Board objective is to sell Africa as a shared destination. Airlines see there is money in serving routes to Africa, and more and more carriers establish routes. Africa is now also on all major airline networks in the world.

African Tourism Board announced  Alain St. Ange, president of the organization,  has been invited to speak at the IATA Regional Aviation Forum for West and Central Africa, taking place in Accra, Ghana on June 24 and 25.

Under the theme “Aviation: Business for Regional Prosperity”, this high-caliber event will bring together distinguished aviation decision makers and influencers, representing Governments, regulatory agencies, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, tourism organizations, international and regional organizations, aviation suppliers and aircraft manufacturers from Africa, the Middle East and globally.

Ghana Minister of Aviation, Honourable Joseph Kofi Adda and IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa & Middle East, Muhammad Ali Albakri, together with other senior IATA executives and aviation industry are expecting to welcome key aviation leaders to the event.

Amongst many other key topics, this regional aviation forum will focus on:

  • Aviation in National Economic Planning
  • Aviation supporting Regional Agro-Industry
  • Growing Political Will to drive the Aviation Agenda
  • Securing the Prosperity of Aviation Businesses in West and Central Africa
  • Aviation supporting Regional Tourism Growth
  • Removing Impediments to Slow Collaboration among African Airlines

Founded in 2018, the African Tourism Board an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from the African region. More on Africa Tourism Board and to join visit www.africantourismboard.com 

MEDIA CONTACT:

TravelMarketingNetwork

954 Lexington Ave. #1037

New York, NY 10021 USA

PH: (+1) 718-374-6816

[email protected]   

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Filed Under: African Tourism Board, Travel & Tourism Tagged With: aviation, IATA, president, regional, tourism, tourism board

Jamaica successful in bid to chair UNWTO’s Regional Commission for the Americas

May 17, 2019 by PressEditor

Jamaica was yesterday selected to chair the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) for the biennium 2019-2021.

“Jamaica graciously accepts the position of Chairman for the Regional Commission of the Americas and thanks the members for the confidence which has been demonstrated. This is the first time in our history that anyone in the Caribbean has been appointed Chairman of this commission,” said the Minister.

The elections for the Chairmanship of CAM were held during the organization’s 64th Meeting in Guatemala.

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, 1st Vice Chair in 2013 and eventually serving as Chairman of the Executive Council for the period 2014-2015.

In his acceptance speech, the Minister shared that “Jamaica firmly believes that the tourism sector is one that should always be guided by sound policies and has over the years worked assiduously to ensure that this is achieved at both the domestic and international levels.

Jamaica also underscores it commitment to enhancing the capacity of the Americas to plan for and manage a range of global shocks and disruptions that can be destabilizing to the tourism sector.”

He then invited the participation of member countries in the ‘first of its kind’ Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre which is based at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

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.

While in Guatemala, the Minister and his delegation will also participate in the International Seminar on Destination Management, which is taking place under the theme ‘New Challenges, New Solutions.’

The Seminar will discuss current challenges and opportunities facing destination management at national and local levels, including the changing role of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and the development of smart destinations.

The Minister is accompanied by Miss Kerry Chambers, Senior Director, Policy and Monitoring who will provide technical support. The team will return to the island on May 18, 2019.

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

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Filed Under: Travel & Tourism Tagged With: Americas, commission, Destinations, Jamaica, ministry, regional, UNWTO

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