Thu | Jul 2, 2026

Tourism minister tours UTech training hotel

Published:Friday | June 23, 2023 | 12:56 AM
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Edmund Bartlett (left), minister of tourism, and Lloyd Carney (right), chancellor, UTech, Jamaica rap with Torne Dixon (2nd left) and Devauny Brown, Internet of Things (IoT) product developers at PreeLabs Limited, a start-up technology-based company incuba
Contributed
Edmund Bartlett (left), minister of tourism, and Lloyd Carney (right), chancellor, UTech, Jamaica rap with Torne Dixon (2nd left) and Devauny Brown, Internet of Things (IoT) product developers at PreeLabs Limited, a start-up technology-based company incubated at UTech, Jamaica’s Technology Innovation Lab (TIC). Preelabs team members are specialists in IoT embedded systems design, robotics, programming, and product development, providing customised solutions to their clients’ needs.
Chef Khalil Campbell (right), programme director, Culinary Arts, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), UTech, shows off state-of-the art food-preparation equipment inside the SHTM training hotel’s Culinary Demonstration Lab to Edmund Bartl
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Chef Khalil Campbell (right), programme director, Culinary Arts, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), UTech, shows off state-of-the art food-preparation equipment inside the SHTM training hotel’s Culinary Demonstration Lab to Edmund Bartlett (centre), minister of tourism; Lloyd Carney, (second right), chancellor of UTech; and Professor Colin Gyles (left), acting president, UTech. Looking on in the background are Dr Carey Wallace (far left), executive director, Tourism Enhancement Fund, and Michael Edwards, programme director, Baking Technology, SHTM.
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Tourism minister Edmund Bartlett has signalled his interest in holding further talks with University of Technology (UTech) stakeholders in pursuit of partnerships for tourism and hospitality development.

UTech Chancellor Lloyd Carney welcomed the minister on a recent tour of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) training hotel and engaged the minister and his delegation on partnership talks for the development of the institution’s boutique training hotel which was built in 2015 as part of the UTech Enhancement Project.

The institution’s management team is lobbying for partnership with the government to have the training facility function as a local hotel while also maintaining its current operations.

Bartlett’s visit last Friday followed from an invitation by the chancellor and was slated by the ministry as a fact-finding mission under its Destination Assurance Programme, which seeks to enhance tourism-related assets in Jamaica. The minister was accompanied by a delegation from the Ministry of Tourism, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCO).

The SHTM training hotel features, among other amenities, state-of-the-art culinary labs, lecture theatres, several suites, a restaurant, dining area and a baking lab.

Chancellor Carney indicated that the state-of-the-art hotel training facility places UTech, Jamaica at the forefront and on a high competency list to offer services required in some of Jamaica’s best-rated hotels.

“Not only do we provide direct hotel capabilities training, but everything that a Riu or a Sandals need – from management of their sewer system… management of their cooler system … we at UTech provide every skill necessary to run a large-scale hotel,” asserted Carney. He explained that the training hotel serves as a practical learning facility for students undertaking degree and certificate courses in tourism and hospitality at UTech.

Carney said the institution can be seen as the “real training ground” for tourism and hospitality as well as business and IT professionals of the new digital era.

Capacity building innovation

Referencing Virtual Reality Jamaica Limited, Carney stated: “One of our start-up companies currently being hosted at our Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) is working on a 3D modelling simulation.”

The technology product includes the digitisation of tourist sites and other attractions to create a virtual vacation experience for prospective visitors as far as in Dubai. The chancellor said this provides a great opportunity for collaboration in the interest of boosting development which is inclusive of training individuals to meet the demands of the industry.

Intrigued by the information shared regarding the capacity building innovation being undertaken at the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), the minister extended his visit to meet with clients at the technology-based start-up business incubator.

Citing that since we have only recovered “18 per cent” of the “$72 million” lost to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Bartlett noted that his ministry is interested in “human capital development as a key strategy for growth”. He also noted that “tourism of the future, driven by experiences, is going to be significantly influenced by the Internet of Things”.

He added: “Two key elements of the future are resilience and sustainability, and you could become that institute here that drives resilience and sustainability for the entire region.”

Concluding his remarks, the minister emphasised: “We have to look at a future of educational development which is different from what we are used to so I would be very interested to see what your curriculum is going to look like in the context of this new tourism that is emerging.”