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Phenomenal!  That is the word Delwin Rochester, Logistics Officer for the Caribbean Travel Marketplace (CTM) 2019 event, says aptly described the service provided by Jamaica’s newest Tour and Destination Management Company, Mojoa Tours during the three-day event.

“When we were putting the CHTA conference together, I was tasked with the logistics of moving people in and out.  In previous years one transportation company would have done all the movement, but with the amount of business in the island right now, it was not possible, so I had to go around and ask everybody to pitch in do a little piece so the whole thing could happen,” Rochester told Access Jamaica.

“Some said ‘yes’, some flat out said ‘no’.  I went to Mr Brown (CEO of Mojoa Tours) and not only did he say yes, he has gone above and beyond everything I have asked him to do.    Some of the things I don’t even have to ask him and it was done,” he added.

Negril, Jamaica. Negril Entertainment Association (NEA) President Ryan Morrison, says even though the resort town gained prominence as a global brand partially due to a robust nightlife, characterised by live reggae music performances by some of Jamaica’s top acts, the town may lose its spirit if it does not get its own entertainment venue.

According to Morrison, many promoters of events are unable to book top flight international artistes to perform, as there is no venue in the town with the enough capacity to hold an audience large enough to make undertaking such a venture, profitable.

“We need an entertainment park, something that is very much close to the town centre, has adequate parking, bathroom facilities, all the modern amenities, but not a white elephant.  We don’t want any more buildings to lock up.  There is a part of Jamaican entertainment, the outdoors, there is nothing like it.  You can’t just talk about going to clubs; people don’t want that.  People want outdoor venues,” Morrison said.

Photo Caption: Anglican Church, Clarks Town, Trelawny, Jamaica.

Jamaica has the distinction of having the most churches per square mile than any other nation in the world.  

But what is awesome about our island nation, is the remarkable religious tolerance practiced here.  No one is discriminated against because of their religion.  All Christian denominations and all of the world’s religions are represented on the island, including our very own Rastafari religion that was created here.  

PHOTO CAPTION: Carolyn McDonald-Riley, Head of the Tourism Linkages Network.

Tourism is regarded as one of the fastest growing economic sectors and a crucial contributor to growth, poverty eradication, the creation of employment, wealth and the preservation of the global environment.  

Tourism role in the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been documented and discussed far and wide.   The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, are described by the United Nations as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.  These goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals and include new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among others.  

PHOTO CAPTION: Youtube.com
KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 24, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, stands ready to support Indonesia in their recovery programme, following a tsunami that struck along the rim of the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra islands, killing at least 373 people.

In a letter to the Tourism Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Hon. Arief Yahya, Co-Chairman of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, “I express to you our deepest sympathies on the horrible tsunami event which claimed so many lives and destroyed so much of the human and other assets of your beautiful country.”

He further noted, “The Centre stands ready to support your recovery efforts and will meet with its partners to identify possible solutions.”

Fresh off its coronation as the 2018 World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination, Saint Lucia has been nominated for four new tourism industry awards.

 the 26^th annual World Travel Awards (WTA), the destination will vie for the titles of:

• Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination 2019
• Caribbean’s Leading Destination 2019
• Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination 2019
• Caribbean’s Leading Luxury Island Destination 2019

Saint Lucia has won the Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination honour nine times since the WTA began recognising the top honeymoon hotspots in the Caribbean region in 2009. However, the destination has never won in any of the other categories in which it has been nominated.

SOURCE: eTurbo News

Today Swoop celebrates its first international flight from John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) to Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The sold-out flight departs Hamilton at 8:00 a.m. EST and arrives in Montego Bay at 12:10 p.m. EST. Travelers will be greeted upon landing in Montego Bay with a celebratory water arch, met with live entertainment and donned with local customary decorative beads.

December 12, 2018. Returning Residents are Jamaicans so named because they have lived, worked abroad and have returned home, in some cases to retire, to invest, or to continue working and sharing their many years of experience and expertise. However, after any significant period of time abroad, the process of returning to reside takes planning and requires accurate information before relocating to the land of one’s birth.

Access Jamaica Network, a WhatsApp group, founded by Theo Chambers, marketing guru, was abuzz with posts responding to a video that spread across the social media like wildfire last week (week of Dec. 3, 2018). The video showed an unidentified woman driving a motorcar who faced the camera as she described three murders of returning residents. Appealing to viewers not to return to Jamaica, she rationalized that after working abroad, saving their hard-earned money to buy their dream homes, they could be targeted and killed.

While the woman in the video offered one dire solution to a string of murders of which she mentioned three, the members of Access Jamaica Network offered several solutions some of which are mentioned herein. Returning Residents were dissuaded from returning to their old neighborhoods to build large homes, becoming targets, instead they were encouraged to live in gated communities.  Dr. Marcia Brandon sustainable development entrepreneur who has lived in Barbados and worked in the region for almost 30 years, a daughter of the Jamaican soil, who intends to return home in the near future, agreed with Sharon Oshun Chambers, author & public relations consultant, who called for a peaceful march on Jamaica to bring the returning resident community together and help eliminate fear. Brandon said “mobilize members in all parishes and march on Jamaica to take action; we need our returning residents and there is no way we can just let them be harmed and killed and we sit back and take it”. Chambers suggested a town a town hall meeting, inviting government agencies to help find solutions.

Festival’s third and final night made attendees dance with Pepe Hernandez’s Latin jazz, followed by the awe-inspiring skill of world-renowned Lalah Hathaway. Bobby McFerrin provided a spectacular grand finale that reinforced the importance of Riviera Maya Jazz Festival, a free event that has drawn huge world talents; national and international visitors; and press coverage from Mexico, United States and Canada.

Darío Flota Ocampo, Director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Board and festival organizer, emphasized the positive mood and participation of the audience, who in spite of record-breaking crowds enjoyed the performers and ensured another successful Riviera Maya Jazz Festival.

Source: eTurbo News (Oleg Sziakov assignment editor)

Source: www.Caribjournal.com

Photo Caption: The newly-rebranded Hilton Playa del Carmen.

The newly-rebranded — hotels are the result of a strategic alliance between Hilton and all-inclusive leader Playa Hotels and Resorts, a relationship that will eventually produce 10 all-inclusive properties around the region.

~The handbook for tourism businesses and policymakers provides information and outlines actions and strategies for disaster management in tourism. ~

Bridgetown, Barbados (23 November 2018) – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region’s tourism development agency, is soon to publish a disaster risk management (DRM) guide for the region’s tourism sector as part of its objective to foster a culture of preparedness in destination management.

The publication, which targets tourism businesses and policymakers, will help guide the tourism sector’s preparedness, response and recovery from the multiplicity of hazards that impact and/or potentially threaten the region. 

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says plans are now underway by his Ministry to develop the parish of St Thomas as Jamaica’s newest tourism destination.

Speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony on November 16 for Lyssons Beach, in the parish, Minister Bartlett said, “We are currently developing the newest destination in Jamaica – St Thomas. Already we have commissioned a tourism development assessment and spent over $30 million, bringing technical and key skilled planners, designers and tourism destination aficionados – people who understand how to build a destination.”

He further noted that, “Tourism development is a means by which we can diversify a local economy, minimize the rural urban drift and drive inclusive and sustainable development. We can agree that the parish of St Thomas needs this at this time. In fact, the Government of Jamaica has targeted the parish for special developmental focus and tourism has been selected as a key driver for that development.”

Source: The Caribbean Journal staff

Riu has reopened another all-inclusive hotel in the Caribbean.

The latest Riu property to undergo a major renovation is the all-inclusive Riu Palace Tropical Bay in Negril, part of a widespread upgrade push across the region.

LATAM Airlines Group today announced two new flights from its Lima hub including a new Caribbean destination, Montego Bay (Jamaica), and a direct service to Calama, Chile.

Starting 1 July 2019, LATAM Airlines Peru will operate three weekly flights to Montego Bay, offering convenient connections with cities in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. The route will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft with capacity for 174 passengers, equivalent to a total of 52,600 seats per year.

 “Next July, we will offer our passengers even greater choice with a new destination in the Caribbean as well as significantly shorter journey times between Lima and Calama, the gateway to San Pedro de Atacama,” said Enrique Cueto, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group. “As part of our commitment to offering unrivalled connectivity in Latin America, we continue to make it easier to explore the best that this region has to offer, with more destinations and flight options than any other airline group.”

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has been appointed to the board of sitting ministers and appointed public officials, of the newly formed African Tourism Board association.

Bartlett received the appointment while in London, last week, during the official unveiling of the multinational-body at this year’s World Travel Market. The organization, which is part of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners, was developed to promote the hospitality sector in Africa.

Other members include Hon. Jose Gonçalves, Cape Verde’s Minister of Tourism; Hon. Minister Mahmoud Kombo, Zanzibar’s Minister Information, Tourism and Heritage; Pascal Viroleau, CEO The Vanilla Islands Organization; and Hon Dr. Memunatu Pratt, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Tourism & Culture.