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Message by Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett for World Tourism Day 2019

September 28, 2019 by PressEditor

My fellow tourism workers and stakeholders in the industry, today we join the world in celebrating World Tourism Day, under the theme: ‘Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all.’

World Tourism Day is commemorated each year with celebrations led by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO). Its purpose is to foster awareness among the global community of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution the sector can make in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the UNWTO, tourism is a major source of employment globally because of its labor-intensive nature and the significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism sector creates about one-and-a-half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism-related economy. Overall tourism accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide.

Tourism is regarded as the fastest growing industry, contributing a great deal to economies around the world. In fact, tourism accounts for 11 per cent of global GDP, second only to the finance and banking industry’s 19 percent.Jamaica’s tourism growth mirrors the growth globally. Tourism is our top foreign exchange earner, a major job creator and a driving force for economic growth. Locally it contributes 9% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and about 20 percent of GDP, in terms of revenue.

Earnings in the tourism sector also increased from US$3 billion in 2017 to US$3.3 billion in 2018. It is currently increasing at 8.4 percent and is expected to reach US$3.7 billion in 2019.

It is also important to note that, as of January 2019 the tourism sector employed 120,500 people, or nine percent of Jamaica’s labor force, while generating indirect jobs for another 250,000 persons, or one in every 5 Jamaicans.
These jobs are linked in sectors such as technology, agriculture, the creative industries, manufacturing, transportation and other services.

Employment in hotels and restaurants rose by four percent between January 2017 and January 2019 — this represents about 5,000 more jobs created, than in the previous two-year period. Central to this growth is you, the workers of the industry.

This tourism growth underscores the invaluable worth of the sector as a powerful driver of economic and social development. The continued growth of the tourism sector in Jamaica will depend on the right people with the right skills being available to meet the new human capital demands of the sector.

The tourism industry has been changing globally, with technology being a driving force in knowledge and innovation. Technology is changing the way in which business models were being conducted and changing the way in which we understand things.

Therefore, we have been building the capacity of our workers to better meet the needs of the industry in this new ‘internet of things’. We want to appeal to our people who are deeply interested in uniting the new values that this technology will bring to make us fit for purpose and more so, remain fashionable and relevant.

The Tourism Linkages Network is one such initiative within the Ministry, which continues to find creative ways to ensure that the benefits of tourism filter down to the average Jamaican and foster economic growth.

They have developed a number of business-to-business initiatives such as Speed Networking, Christmas in July and Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX), Jamaica Suppliers Directory and the National Community Tourism Portal, which allow smaller players in the industry to get a slice of the tourism pie.

Through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, we have created, the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI), which is a pathway institution that provides international accreditation for our workers who are competent on the job but not certified.

Some 650 high-school students across the island are also benefitting from the JCTI’s $100-million Hospitality and Tourism Management Program (HTMP), which will see them gaining internationally recognized certification in the industry.

We have also forged a partnership with the University of the West Indies for a Graduate School of Tourism at its Western Jamaican Campus, which will open next September.

Another critical policy we have put in place to ensure a better future for our tourism workers, is the recently passed Tourism Worker’s Pension Scheme, which is a defined contributory scheme embracing some 350,000 workers across the sector.

Prioritizing human capital development is an absolute necessity, as we seek to improve employment opportunities in the sector and sustain our award-winning and globally competitive tourism product. It is for this reason, we are proud to join the world in celebrating a day, which embraces the theme, “Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all.”

I wholeheartedly thank my team at the Ministry of Tourism as well as our very important stakeholders, for the contribution they have made to the development of this sector – particularly in the provision of training opportunities and a variety of jobs for the people of this great nation of Jamaica.

Hon. Edmund Bartlett, CD, MP
Minister of Tourism

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: industrys, Jamaican, Jobs, ministry, sectors, tourism, tourisms

3900 Youth Empowered by TEF Summer Internship Program in 6 Years

August 14, 2019 by PressEditor

In the past 6 years, some 3,900 youth have benefitted from the Jamaica Tourism Enhancement Fund’s (TEF) Summer Internship Program (SIP), which introduces participants (between 16-25 years) to the world of work and assists them with gaining professional experience.  

This year’s internship program gave some 649 high school and tertiary students the opportunity to intern in tourism and non-tourism fields at 90 private and public sector entities across the island. In addition, TEF collaborated with Jamaica Association for the Deaf to place 10 hearing impaired students.

Speaking to a packed house at the program’s closing ceremony, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett told the interns that their postings would have given them a “very practical and hands on appreciation  of the many moving parts that must come together seamlessly to create the tourism experience that we sell to the world.”  The ceremony took place today at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston.

Noting that some interns may have wondered in the process how significant their jobs were to tourism, Minister Bartlett explained the five pillars essential to tourism growth (new products, new markets, new investments, development of human capital and new partnerships) and the importance of partnerships  that bring the many moving parts of tourism together.

Nearly 4000 Jamaican Youth Empowered by Tourism Enhancement Fund Internship
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith (left) presents Shaniel Brown with a Top Perfomer Award in the Tourism Enhancement Fund’s (TEF) Summer Internship Program (SIP). Shaniel, who interned at the Shortwood Branch of the National Parish Library, also won a Customer Service Gold Award. The occasion was the SIP closing ceremony, which took place today at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston. This year TEF collaborated with the Jamaica Association for the Deaf to place 10 hearing impaired students at various private sector and government entities.

“You may wonder why you went to a paramedical facility to work. Because we are involved in creating three key S’s that are important to those five pillars – safety, security and seamlessness. So, to enable safety and have an understanding of safety you now have to go where the providers of safety reside. And it’s not just the police but the hospitals,” said the Tourism Minister, noting that health security is a critical part of the Destination Assurance that makes Jamaica a place where people want to go to.

“So we need trauma centers and we need proper clinics, trained nurses that can respond quickly and the best doctors. We also need the best equipment for medical care.  So you see just within the sphere of medicine – another moving part – how we are securing the safety of our visitors,” Minister Bartlett continued.

He pointed out that the providers of security and the creation of a seamless system through connectivity were equally important to tourism’s proper functioning and success.

“These are what cause tourism to happen and so therefore when we do these summer internship programmes it is to expose you to these areas that are not in the hotels where traditionally you see tourism. We deliberately didn’t post you at hotels for that purpose  so you understand how broad, how extensive, how inclusive tourism is; how deep and wide the value chain of tourism is; and how when you train in all these various disciplines you are really preparing yourself to give service,” he said.

He noted that the focus of SIP is customer service and service excellence, which is part of the broader policy of the Ministry of Tourism concerning human capital development and as part of professionalizing the tourism sector through the Ministry’s educational arm, the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation.

This year, interns were taken through formal training in customer service, business and office etiquette and leadership development with special focus on Guest Service Gold Tourism for which they will be certified. This certificate course was offered in partnership with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational institute (AHLEI).

Media Contact:

Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Fax: (876) 906 1729

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Filed Under: Travel & Tourism Tagged With: internship, policy, programs, SIP, TEF, tourism, tourisms

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