‘Seminal year’ for tourism

WESTERN BUREAU:

Declaring 2025 a “seminal year” for Jamaica’s visitor economy, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett officially opened the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) 2025 on Sunday evening at Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St James.

The opening set the tone for a bold new era of growth, innovation, and inclusive development in the tourism sector.

Addressing scores of local and international tourism stakeholders at the high-profile welcome reception, Bartlett outlined an ambitious plan that looks well beyond the Government’s current five-year tourism strategy.

“We have almost annexed ‘five by five by five’. We are ‘four by four by four’, and we are excited about the prospects of five by five by five,” he said, referencing the national goal of five million visitors, US$5 billion in revenue, and five years to achieve it.

“But we have to look beyond five by five by five. We have to look now into the next five years, to 2030, and beyond.”

Bartlett announced that 2025 will kick-start the broadest consultation process in the sector’s history, bringing together stakeholders from across Jamaica and internationally to help shape a blueprint for long-term development.

“This is a year of great consultation, and I’m starting that consultation this very week,” he said.

The consultations will support new strategies, legislation, regulations, and fiscal tools to position Jamaica on the supply side of global tourism – a move designed to give the country greater control over how it benefits from the booming industry.

Citing projections of a global increase to three billion tourists in the next decade, Bartlett warned stakeholders not to remain passive.

“The issue is, where will they be going? But more importantly, where are they coming from? Our job, Jamaica, is to be right in the middle, to say to them: there’s only one place to go, and that is Jamaica.”

Bartlett urged the industry stakeholders to focus on developing products that tap into travellers’ “passion points”, areas of personal interest that drive travel decisions and challenged JAPEX to scale rapidly in terms of international participation.

“Let’s make it happen right here in Jamaica, so that all our 160 buyers will next year expand to 320, and the following year to 640. Let’s grow in geometric progression and make this great industry work for the people of Jamaica.”

In a nod to the Government’s vision for a joined-up economic strategy, Bartlett hailed the appointment of Delano Seiveright, former minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism, to the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.

“He’s grown, he’s built, he’s learnt … and now he can move to greater things and bigger places to add value and partner with tourism.”

He said Seiveright’s new role will help strengthen links between tourism and other key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, industry, and the creative economy, a vision Bartlett described as essential to long-term national development.

“Tourism is not an entity unto itself,” he said. “It’s part of a larger process that brings different sectors together to create a product with real value.”

Looking to the future, Bartlett welcomed the appointment of attorney-at-law Tova Hamilton as the new minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism. While not formally introduced at the event, Hamilton was scheduled to be presented to ministry staff on Monday, followed by media engagements and her first JAPEX walkthrough on Tuesday.

“You will see the beginnings of the new team,” Bartlett said.

As Jamaica’s flagship tourism marketplace, JAPEX 2025 will continue through the week, featuring high-level meetings, destination showcases, and networking opportunities designed to boost arrivals, investment, and partnerships across the industry.

With bold leadership and a vision that stretches to 2030 and beyond, Bartlett made it clear: Jamaica isn’t just participating in global tourism, it’s preparing to lead it.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com