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SECRETARY GENERAL CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

Bridgetown, Barbados (28 Dec 2017) - This has been a challenging year for Caribbean tourism. While the first half of the year saw exciting growth in both tourism infrastructure and tourist arrivals over the previous year, in September we were hit hard by a series of unusual hurricanes that not only destroyed property, but also took the lives of many of our citizens. We must never forget the souls we lost along the way.

Physically, we will recover. Our Caribbean people are a resilient population. We will put the bricks and mortar back together and the hotels and vegetation will rise again and shine in the brilliant sunlight.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett travels to Geneva, Switzerland today (December 17, 2017) , to present the recently unveiled Montego Bay Declaration, to delegates attending the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Closing Ceremony for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.

“The Declaration of Montego Bay will become incorporated in the documents and the outcomes of the International Year of Sustainability. This is the perhaps the biggest legacy that we could hope for as a small destination – that our name will be indelibly etched in the lexicon of tourism references so that children yet unborn, will know that Montego Bay existed,” said Minister Bartlett.

The 15-point Declaration was one of the major outcomes of the recently concluded UNWTO Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism held in Montego Bay from November 27 to 29. It was first presented by Minister Bartlett and Executive Director of the UNWTO, Carlos Vogeler, on November 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.

Mandeville, Jamaica, W.I. (December 4, 2017) Louis D’Amore, Founder/President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), has designated 2018 the IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace in collaboration with Countrystyle/Villages As Businesses.

In 1994, the IIPT branded Jamaica The Home of Community Tourism in recognition of the two pioneers of the community tourism brand and programmes in 1978 in Mandeville Jamaica, Diana McIntyre-Pike, Founder/President, Countrystyle Community Tourism Network and her late business partner Desmond Henry from Treasure Beach, Jamaica. 

In 2013, on the recommendation of the IIPT Caribbean Chapter, the IIPT welcomed the Caribbean Region to join as partners. The Caribbean was then also branded "Home of Community Tourism." The IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace will mark the 40th Anniversary of Community Tourism, which Countrystyle/Villages as Businesses began in Jamaica and is now an international movement. Celebrations in Jamaica will begin on January 1with a Gospel Concert in Apple Valley Park, Maggotty, St Elizabeth, and will continue at the 15th Annual Resource UNIA-ACL Marcus Garvey Fair in Cross Keys, Manchester on February 25. The 2018 IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace will also commemorate IIPT’s 30th Anniversary Year. 

With just a few days to go, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is satisfied that all systems are in place for the November 27 to 29 staging of the global conference on sustainable tourism at the Montego Bay Convention Centre (MBCC).

Registration for the UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, was set to cut off on November 17 but was extended to the November 20 to accommodate a last-minute flurry.  

Following a reconnaissance visit to the MBCC and reports from the organizing committee on Saturday (November 18), Minister Bartlett gave the thumbs up. “I’m very satisfied with what I’ve seen and heard,” he said.

In his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS) and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has been invited to give an address at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.

Minister Bartlett, who departed the island yesterday (November 02, 2017), will use the platform at the ITCMS to share the measures being implemented to increase resiliency in the sector. A major part of this is the creation of the Tourism Rehabilitation Action Plan for the Caribbean islands recently devastated by natural disasters.

“The Caribbean remains united in rebuilding our tourism sector to its former glory. In fact, my Ministry is working very closely with the international and regional organizations as well as other Ministers within the Caribbean to create a working strategy to strengthen the sector’s resilience to the effects of climate change and natural disaster, thus making it more sustainable,” said the Minister. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 25, 2017: The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has announced their endorsement of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) global conference to be held in Jamaica in November.

Adam Goldstein, who is the FCCA’s Executive Committee Chairman and current President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, gave the endorsement to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, during a private meeting between Presidents and CEOs of  FCCA member lines and Ministers of Tourism, on October 25 in Merida, Mexico.

During the meeting, the group also discussed strategies to drive year-round traffic to the region, the creation of more employment opportunities and the development of strategic partnerships.

Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism

KINGSTON, Jamaica, October 4, 2017:  Jamaica continues to extend our thoughts and prayers to our Caribbean brothers and sisters, especially residents in those islands that took a direct hit from the recent hurricanes and to everyone who has been or will be affected as a result of these catastrophic storms.

We recognize that the entire Caribbean region will be adversely impacted by the lasting results of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and have set a course of action that is designed to minimize the long-term effect on the region.

The brand began managing the resort on Oct 1; in the first quarter of 2018, the property will be fully reflagged and renamed as the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan.

The property has a total of 26 suites and 12 villas; it also includes a beachside infinity pool, three night-lit tennis courts, a fitness center and a kids’ club.

The five-square-mile island is home to a Tom Fazio-designed golf course, a superyacht marina and the largest natural coral reef in the southern Caribbean.

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KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 20, 2017:  Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett will join leading tourism stakeholders in Washington DC tomorrow (June 21) for the Tourism Knowledge Exchange Forum 2017, which is expected to highlight the latest innovations in sustainable tourism development.

The event is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with Chemonics International, George Washington University and the World Bank Group. It is expected to bring together leaders and achievers in the tourism industry – such as representatives from the World Economic Forum, AirBnb and Harvard University – to discuss the impacts of the shared economy, new systems for measuring tourism impact and indicators as a driver of understanding competitiveness

“It is critical for us to have a sustainable presence in the international marketplace, especially in instances where we can strategize the way ahead for tourism. I am therefore very pleased to join organizers to discuss how we can better incorporate the key enablers of sustainable tourism destination development and competitiveness,” said Minister Bartlett.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 19, 2017: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, though the destination is not at risk, his Ministry will increase efforts to tackle the issue of crime affecting the people of Jamaica. 

Addressing delegates at the 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and awards luncheon of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Saturday (June 17), Minister Bartlett said, “safety and security must be a feature of our own existence as a people, because tourism is not just about the visitor but about the people in the destination and we have to act on protecting our people first.”

The Minister went on to state that the Ministry of Tourism is working closely with the Ministry of National Security to ensure that local national security becomes aligned with tourism security.

Photo Caption:    African Liberation Day, also known as ALD, was founded in 1958 by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on the occasion of the First Conference of Independent States held in Accra, Ghana and attended by eight independent African states.                                     

                                                      AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY

25th May 2017. African Liberation Day presents to us an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are determined as African people and the DÈaspora to make our continent become one of the best continents in industrializations, identity and ideology. This day was founded in 1958 in commemoration of the people of Africa to free themselves from colonialism, exploitation, foreign domination and imperialism.

Source: CaribbeanJournal.com

An accomplished roster of speakers, including a top executive from Virgin Atlantic, a leading authority on tourism intelligence and a host of respected hoteliers, will address delegates attending the annual Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum, slated to take place from June 2 to 4 at the Hyatt Regency Miami.

(Bartlett_Spain2)KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 10, 2017:  Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (second right) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith (second left) participate in a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) workshop on the creation of sustainable gastronomy tourism products. The culinary work shop, which included practical case studies, forms part of the UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism, taking place in San Sebastian, Spain, from May 8-9, 2017. San Sebastián is a world reference point for Gastronomy Tourism. Minister Bartlett said that the experience will be vital to the further development of the gastronomy tourism product locally, which is being driven through the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network. He returns to the island on May 13, 2017.