Access Jamaica Newsroom

Editor's Commentary: Caribnewsroom (PositiveTourism) recommends that the Ministry of Culture, Gender Affairs and Sports hold Town Hall sessions in the Ocho Rios Community to properly educate the community and share responses from Garveyites from across the world who would support the building of such a museum to honor our First National Hero and Saint, revered across the globe. The benefits to the community should be stressed and the persons who would be relocated should be reassured that they will be honored and properly compensated.

www.Caribnewsroom.com 
www.PositiveTourism.com

---------------------------------------------------------

Minister of Culture , Gender Affairs and Sports,  Hon Olivia Grange, says she and the Ministry are doing their best to have residents of 32 Marcus Garvey Way, in St Ann’s Bay, re-settled in an appropriate location soon.

KINGSTON, Jamaica; Thursday February 28, 2019:   Preliminary data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica shows that cruise tourism has seen an almost 300% increase in earnings over the last ten years. In 2008, the sector earned J$7.5Billion and in 2017 cruise saw earnings of J$22.6Billion.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, who made the announcement at Jamaica Vacations’ (JAMVAC’s) Cruise Council cocktail yesterday, said, “Cruise tourism for Jamaica has been a long journey of growth and development over many years and it began much like all other industries with a small beginning then mushroomed into proportions that today we can regard as an integral part of the fabric of our economy.

What we recognize as well is that cruise provides the best and most immediate form of conversion of wealth into the pockets and economies of the local destination. The impact of this sizeable earning therefore has been instantaneous in the communities across the country.”

JAMVAC Limited, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, has direct responsibility for cruise. JAMVAC has since been an important player in Jamaica’s growing cruise industry which last year received a significant boost with vessels including Marella Cruise, Carnival Horizon and Ms Sirena arriving in Jamaican waters for the very first time.

 Co-organiser of the Caribbean Health & Wellness Tourism Conference and Expo, Sharon Parris-Chambers, is upbeat that the region will fully capitalise on the $4.2 trillion-dollar global wellness economy in short order. Parris-Chambers was commenting on data outlined in the most recent Global Wellness Economy Monitor, which was presented dur...

AccessJamaica.com is Jamaica’s premier distribution and repository channel for Jamaican products and service. The portal helps consumers find easily accessible information under one umbrella (www.AccessJamaica.com).

The portal’s chief solutions coach, Theo Chambers, launched the portal on Saturday, October 22, 2016, which is now accessible to the global marketplace. He said “AccessJamaica is a new source channel in the marketplace for Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) networking in Jamaica.”

The founder envisions a Jamaica that is computer literate and in harmony with the national vision to develop Jamaica as a place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.

In keeping with Jamaica’s push to be a leader in the Internet Technology industry, AccessJamaica.com provides the vehicle to get consumers in line with the national vision and  on par with first world nations.

Montego Bay has in recent times become the epicenter of celebrity sightings in Jamaica, and that’s due in large measure to OCEAN Style.  The Caribbean luxury lifestyle brand having already produced three celebrity events in Jamaica this year  - Taye Diggs’ Book Signing Tour, Vivica Fox’s Birthday Celebration and High Vibes Roots & Reggae Festival featuring Rick Ross, Beenie Man and Ky-Mani Marley.  Now the tourism capital of Jamaica is gearing up to host the 9th annual OCEAN Style FashionShowcase Weekend and Celebrity Golf Tournament.

Global entertainment giant MTV will be in Jamaica as one of the many recognized entities when the weekend kicks off November 24-27, 2016.  Billed as a weekend of parties, fun, fashion and celebration, the annual event is well-known for pulling international names in fashion, having presented brands: Etro, Reem Accra, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Agent Provocateur, Victoria’s Secret and the Caribbean’s own Meiling, Anya Ayoung-Chee and Heather Jones, just to name a few. In terms of celebrity attendance, OCEAN Style has hosted over 50 celebrities including the likes of Anthony Anderson, Angela Simmonds, Vivica Fox, Lennox Lewis, Taye Diggs, Don Benjamin, Rockmond Dunbar, Nicole Murphy and Mekhi Phifer and in the process successfully established itself as the quintessential celebrity and socialite playground of the Caribbean.

Secrets Resorts & Spas will play host to the guests and a number of the events as the presenting partner for the second consecutive year. Emilio Huhn, General Manager said: "For a luxury resort like Secrets it's a very good fit. We are happy to be associated with world class events and that is what OCEAN Style delivers."

With such an enviable profile the event has in the past attracted the attention of global media giants such as BET, Centric and ESPN; each of which has celebrated the OCEAN Style experience on their respective channels.

Efforts to foster investment in island’s timeshare vacations subsector, will be further boosted as Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett departs the island today (October 25, 2016), to attend the International Shared Ownership Investment Conference on ‘Timeshare’s Economic Impact on Destination Markets’ in Miami. 

“I am very excited to attend this important conference on timeshare vacations. I strongly believe that it is important for us to continuously diversify Jamaica’s tourism product and the introduction of timeshare vacations to our product mix is a key way for us to achieve this. It is a unique form of tourism which has the potential to create new economic opportunities for Jamaicans while fuelling investment and enhancing Jamaica’s international appeal,” shared Minister Bartlett.

The conference, which is scheduled to run from October 24-26, 2016, is a major event which provides a forum to educate potential entrants, developers and destination representatives who want to learn more about the opportunities and future trends in the vacation ownership industry.  While there, Minister Bartlett will participate in a high level panel discussion. He will outline details including the objectives of introducing the timeshare legislation act in Jamaica, the potential economic impact and the importance of investing in the island.

“I will use this unique opportunity to urge international interests to examine timeshare as an area of our tourism sector to invest in as the returns can be very lucrative.  The recent introduction of Timeshare Legislation now makes this a viable are for investment. Vacation ownership is one of the fastest-growing areas of the global tourism sector and there is significant potential for further growth and development of the timeshare product in the Caribbean and especially in Jamaica,” he said.

• What: Invites coverage of the 2016 Tourism Outlook Seminar Press Launch.
• When: Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 10:00 am
• Where: The Devonshire, Devon House, 26 Hope Road, Kingston 10

The Ministry of Tourism will be hosting the 2016 staging of the Tourism Outlook Seminar from December 6-8 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James. The event is being organized in association with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The Tourism Outlook Seminar will bring together an impressive cadre of local, regional and international tourism stakeholders to share ideas, examine best practices and discuss strategies for advancing Caribbean tourism.

The highly anticipated seminar will feature contributions from several international experts on areas such as managing communication in the face of issues such as pandemics, terrorism and natural disasters; establishing multi-destination tourism and travel facilitation to name a few. Minister Bartlett will address journalists and tourism partners at the Press Launch.

-30-