Ministry of Tourism

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Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has said that despite the worst world recession for 80 years, the Government of Jamaica has remained committed to the key areas of education, health, security and providing a social safety net.

The Tourism Minister, who was speaking to United Kingdom (UK)-based Jamaicans at the High Commission in London on Friday (November 13), said that the new Government came in with a lot of hope and an agenda that was full of possibilities, visions and sense of purpose.

"We started out and immediately came the worst recession the world has seen in 80 years," he stated.

He said that not withstanding the impact of the downturn, the Government took a position that "there are some key deliverables that we had to make sure we kept safe for the people of Jamaica. Therefore... we had to cut and carve and adjust and change."

He said that one feature of the recession was a contraction in the economy resulting in job losses and reduction in revenue, which meant that the Government had to do more while earning less. This, he said, has led the Government to seek an arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"We really had a challenge. You are earning less but you are required to do more. We have sought to structure arrangements with the IMF as a means of bringing meaningful foreign exchange and balance of payment support so that we can have some space to keep some of the programmes going," he pointed out.

In the meantime, Mr. Bartlett said that the Government has identified agriculture and tourism as two important sectors to raise production and productivity.

Tourism, he said, still represents the most resilient of all industries and the one that offers the quickest opportunity to come out of the recession.

"So, we are going to be focussed heavily on tourism and services and on agriculture as we seek to reduce our dependence on imported goods. In tourism, we have done better than perhaps most countries in the world. In the Caribbean of course, we are the leading destination but we still have to drive arrivals and ensure that tourist expenditure is high," he said, noting that the plan is to utilise the power of 'Brand Jamaica'.

"No other industry in the country or the world has that capability. It is the fastest way to generate foreign exchange and to keep many various other areas of the economy alive. We are going to leverage the power of Brand Jamaica to earn more for us," he added.

The move, he said, included using the success of the country's athletes and diversifying markets to include China, India and South America.

The Tourism Minister was in London last week for the annual World Travel Market.

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