Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett

March 06, 2008: The Jamaican tourism sector has recorded an 11 per cent increase in visitor arrivals since the start of the year, with a significant 14 per cent growth in February, according to the JIS.

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, who spoke to JIS News in London while en route to Germany for the ITB Berlin travel trade show, attributed the growth to the implementation of new advertising and marketing strategy.

"This is huge in the Caribbean because there is no other island in the Caribbean that is experiencing this growth and this is following up on five consecutive months of growth since September. This growth is attributed to a new marketing and advertising strategy that we have adopted. Traditionally, we have been buying national television, we are now buying cable and direct TV in the US and we benefit from that wider reach," he said.

He said that there has also been strong growth in Europe, particularly from Spain and Portugal, while Canada has become the strongest market with a growth rate of 35 per cent.

In the meantime, Mr. Bartlett said that the Ministry is moving into phase two of the 'Spruce up Jamaica Campaign' with emphasis to be placed on human resource development.

As part of the effort, he said that a school of hospitality will be established to ensure that "excellence in service becomes the standard in the industry".

The project, he indicated, will receive technical support of more than US$1 million from Spain.