Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism targets Africa as the next tourism market

As the Caribbean region is visited mostly by tourists from the United States, Canada and the UK, Africa is now considered to have a great potential for tourism and is next on the country’s authorities list as a part of extending the sector’s growth strategy.

 

As a result, during the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO)/IATA conference in Grand Cayman, Minister Bartlett has announced its initiative of inviting 10 African countries and their tourism officials to attend the first Caribbean Africa Tourism Forum to be held in February 2023.

“We will be looking at ways and means to join Africa and the Caribbean, in tourism convergence, which is the first in history. We’re excited about that prospect because it’s opening new markets. Africa is the new frontier and this post-COVID recovery is offering an opportunity for new markets,” Edmund Bartlett commented.

Moreover, the Minister also plans to meet Bartlett Saudi Arabia’s tourism officials in November, in order to develop industry-related relationships with the Middle East. The Commonwealth is also targeted.

“We already have an MOU with and we’ll be working with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) major airlines – that is the Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Air, Etihad and also the Royal Jordanian airline – thinking about how we can enable the opening of the Middle East, the gateway to the Caribbean,” the Minister added.

The moves come as Jamaica aims to further grow tourism, as the industry recovers following the two years of Covid-19 pandemic.

“Most of us are recovering and recovering well. The challenge is to go from 2019, because now you’re going against a different volume; we are going against where we were two and a half years ago. The reality of recovery is a very strong and arduous task, but growth after recovery is rare and precious,” Bartlett concluded.