Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (Photo Credit: Jamaica Tourist Board)
Jamaican minister of tourism Edmund Bartlett has been
appointed chair of a new Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) committee formed
to craft a regional strategy to manage tourism’s supply side and retain a
larger share of tourism earnings within Caribbean economies.
The committee will focus on strengthening linkages between
tourism and sectors including agriculture, manufacturing and the creative
industries so that more value is created and kept in Caribbean communities.
The committee will include representatives from Anguilla,
Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands,
Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“This committee is about moving from leakage to linkage,” said
Bartlett. “Our goal is to ensure that more of every tourism dollar stays in the
Caribbean, builds our businesses, creates quality jobs for our people and
strengthens the resilience of our economies. By working together as a region,
we can secure a bigger share of the value that tourism:
“The appointment of
Minister Bartlett to chair this Committee concretizes the decision taken by the
CTO member countries at the September 30 Council of Ministers and Commissioners
of Tourism meeting to expand the region’s focus on building stronger linkages
in the tourism sector,” explained Ian Gooding-Edghill, Barbados’ minister
of tourism and international transport and CTO’s chairman.
“As Jamaica has been a leading proponent of the supply side
of tourism and the retention of revenues from the sector, the Council of
Ministers and Commissioners unanimously agreed that Minister Bartlett should
lead this regional initiative,” the Chairman said.
“We are pleased that the Minister has accepted yet another
challenge to further advance the development of the region’s tourism sector, as
the CTO’s Council reaffirms its commitment to pursuing this strategy,” he added.
To ensure a strong technical foundation for the initiative,
Minister Bartlett also offered the services of Professor Lloyd Waller,
Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management
Centre (GTRCMC), to develop the Terms of Reference to guide the committee’s
work.
Bartlett further updated ministers on Jamaica’s recovery
following Hurricane Melissa, saying the country is on track to have
approximately 70 percent of its hotel rooms back in operation by January,
supported by intensive repair and renovation work. Also, capacity at Jamaica’s
three international airports is back above 85 percent of pre-Melissa levels as
airlift is restored for the winter season.
Minister Bartlett expressed deep appreciation for the strong
show of solidarity with Jamaica from sister Caribbean countries, including the
Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and others, saying
that regional support has been vital in accelerating Jamaica’s recovery and
protecting tourism jobs.
The CTO Secretariat has also been mandated to undertake
exploratory work on member states’ carrying capacities, providing key data to
support the committee’s recommendations and to underpin sustainable, resilient
tourism growth across the region.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
