[KINGSTON, Jamaica] – During a meeting with the Jamaica Tourist Board international sales and marketing teams, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett delivered a mandate of efficiency and creativity to regain the destination’s exceptional pre-pandemic tourist industry growth momentum.
The Minister outlined a renewed Five-Year plan to achieve 5 million visitors, US$5 billion in earnings and employment of 200,000 Jamaicans in the tourism sector.
“Hope for all of us lies in travel and tourism. Travel became the world’s largest industry in 2019 so we know that people will travel,” said Minister Bartlett. “We’re going to bring back Jamaica’s economy. We need to give the world hope. As long as people travel, they produce and they consume. Consumption will make for prosperity for all.”
To ensure the resurgence and growth of the industry, the Minister of Tourism has proposed a Destination Assurance position, which focuses on engaging GEN-C, the generation that transcends demographics and reflects the shared psychographic of living through the pandemic.
Destination Assurance prioritizes health and safety, while positioning Jamaica as the premiere holiday choice for sun, sea and everything in between.
The Minister charged the JTB team to shape and deliver tourism strategies that will deliver on the Destination Assurance promise of a safe, secure and seamless visit.
The overall sentiment coming out of the meeting is that optimism remains high for Jamaica’s tourism recovery especially in light of the continued appetite for investment in the sector.
The Tourism Minister reported that many of the hospitality brands that were slated to launch hotel properties in 2020 are looking to openings in 2021 and that new brands are also coming on board for additional property development, making for a positive post-pandemic outlook.
