Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed TUI Group’s plan for significant flight expansion and bullish investment that will benefit the island. The announcement by the Group unveils an ambitious plan to significantly increase its flight operations out of Europe, particularly from Italy and Spain, with a focus on expanding routes to Caribbean destinations, with a strategic emphasis on the destination.
The announcement followed a meeting at FITUR in Spain on January 22, led by Minister Bartlett, his Senior Tourism team and TUI Group Senior Executives, led by their CEO, Mr. Sebastian Ebel.
TUI Group, headquartered in Germany, is one of the world’s leading tourism entities and operates worldwide with over 20 million customers. The Group fully or partially owns several travel agencies, hotel chains, cruise lines and retail shops as well as five European airlines.
Minister Bartlett stated:
“An expansion of flights out of Europe and more investment in Jamaica from this longstanding partner augurs well for our tourism sector as we will be able to leverage this to increase arrivals and earnings for our economy.”
“This announcement perfectly aligns with our KPIs of welcoming 5 million visitors and earnings by this year.”
The move stems from the group’s hotel expansion plans in the island with St. Thomas positioned as the ideal location to support this, while ensuring sustainable tourism practices. TUI Group also reconfirmed their strong partnership with Jamaica as one of its key destinations in the Caribbean.
“With the global tourism industry experiencing several disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the lack of planes and equipment, the time is right for this type of expansion as the world welcomes post-COVID travel. This also reconfirms the confidence our long-standing partner has in Jamaica. We are ready to welcome the demands that will flow from this increase,” added Minister Bartlett.
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The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are also located in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are in Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris.
Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions and service providers that continue to receive prominent global recognition. In 2025, TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #13 Best Honeymoon Destination, #11 Best Culinary Destination, and #24 Best Cultural Destination in the World. In 2024, Jamaica was declared ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Family Destination’ for the fifth consecutive year by the World Travel Awards, which also named the JTB the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’ for the 17th consecutive year.
Jamaica earned six Travvy Awards, including a gold for ‘Best Travel Agent Academy Program’ and silver for ‘Best Culinary Destination – Caribbean’ and ‘Best Tourism Board – Caribbean’. The destination also received bronze recognition for ‘Best Destination – Caribbean’, ‘Best Wedding Destination – Caribbean’, and ‘Best Honeymoon Destination – Caribbean’. Additionally, Jamaica received a TravelAge West WAVE award for ‘International Tourism Board Providing the Best Travel Advisor Support’ for a record-setting 12th time.
For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodations in Jamaica go to the JTB’s Website or call the Jamaica Tourist Board at 1-800-JAMAICA (1-800-526-2422). Follow the JTB on Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. View the JTB blog
SEEN IN MAIN IMAGE: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, (C) pause for a moment ahead of discussions with (L-R) Sebastian Ebel, Chief Executive Officer TUI Group and Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, TUI Care Foundation.
Media Contact: Kiwayne Jacobs, Jamaica Tourist Board, kjacobs@visitjamaica.com