Tourism diplomacy, growth at forefront of Bartlett’s agenda
Published:Saturday | January 4, 2020 | 12:16 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has said tourism diplomacy will be at the forefront of his agenda as chairman of the Commission of the Americans in the UNWTO this year.
And Jamaicans living at home and abroad will have an increasingly important role to play in that regard.
“Tourism has served and will continue to serve as an excellent arm of public diplomacy. Jamaicans, including in the diaspora, are on-the-ground and brand ambassadors for our beautiful island, as we often are the first point of reference for authentic Jamaica to visitors. We must discharge this responsibility with pride,” Bartlett said in his New Year’s Day message.
The minister, who is the member of parliament for East Central St James, says he will be harnessing the opportunity to maintain “Jamaica’s personality as a key partner in international relations and seek innovative and creative ways to build on the country’s legacy”, as tourism diplomacy is an important contributor to bolstering the ties which characterise the traditional bilateral relations.
In light of this, he said, Jamaica will be hosting the first UNWTO Summit on Innovation and Resilience in May 2020, as well as the 65th Meeting to the Regional Commission for the Americas.
upward trajectory
With respect to tourism growth, Bartlett said Jamaica will continue to maintain its planned upward trajectory, despite the challenges presented by factors such as dynamic markets and trends, unfavourable weather and other disruptive elements.
“We maintained our planned trajectory by welcoming over 3.4 million visitors to our shores earning over US$3.1 billion. We are on target to earn US$5 billion and host five million visitors by year 2021,” he said.
According to the minister, Jamaica’s exponential growth in tourism over the last few years can be attributed to partnerships forged over the years between the tourism ministry and its allies at all levels.
“This achievement rests on the shoulders of our partners and stakeholders whose support was indispensable to the process. I am grateful for the team at the ministry, its agencies and all our partners and stakeholders for their contribution, and look forward to enhancing these partnerships in the coming year and decade,” Bartlett said.
“These partnerships will be even more important in advancing our vision and mission of seamless safety, security and sustainability for the coming year, as we implement several key initiatives such as the historic tourism pension scheme, the artisan village in Trelawny; expansion of markets into Asia; additional room stocks for tourists and housing solutions for tourism workers, and continued investment in human capital,” he added.
The minister also underscored what he said was the need to strengthen the resource and systematic linkages which undergird Jamaica’s economic development and tourism’s success, and which will continue to serve as an underlying theme in the reimagining of the tourism product. According to him, “all portfolios, departments, communities must be successful to count any success as real and sustainable”.