Travel in city Kingston

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has welcomed news that air seats out of Canada will increase significantly as of November 5, this year when Canada Jetlines introduces twice-weekly flights between Toronto and Montego Bay. Jetlines’ Director of Sales and Business Development, Sanjay Kopalkar announced the introduction of the new service during a JAPEX media breakfast meeting held at the Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa today (September 12). He said as a start there would be flights on Saturdays and Sundays utilising state of the art A320 Aircraft with 174-passenger capacity.

Some 12 international and regional airlines, including carriers flying from over 200 gateways out of the US alone into Jamaica, have contributed to “impressive growth” in activities at the Sangster and Norman Manley International airports. Collectively they generated US$200.28 million or J$30 billion in revenue from a record-breaking 6.96 million passengers traversing them in 2023.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has expressed that, in developing Jamaica’s new Tourism Strategy and Action Plan (TSAP), greater focus will have to be placed on strengthening linkages with other sectors and preventing economic leakages. He was speaking yesterday at the Spanish Court Hotel as the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), successfully concluded its islandwide series of tourism strategy consultation workshops, with the final session being held with stakeholders from the Kingston and St. Andrew destination area. The tourism minister highlighted that the strategy must have an emphasis on reinforcing linkages between tourism and other productive sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing, to prevent economic leakages, as the sector prepares to meet the sustained and increased demand of visitors over the next few years. In this regard, Minister Bartlett noted: “Our strategy in tourism must drive the linkages in the various areas, to stop the leakages from other areas.”

Jamaica hosted one million visitors and earned USD $1 billion in gross foreign exchange earnings in the first two months of 2024, building on a record 2023.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has announced that Jamaica has welcomed one million visitors and earned one billion in foreign exchange in the first two months of the year. The numbers highlight the impressive growth trajectory of the country’s tourism sector. The announcement was made during a Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace press conference, held yesterday at the Jamaica Tourist Board office in Kingston.

Nearly 50 years after reggae legend Peter Tosh first sang “Legalize It,” Jamaica has recognized the economic potential of perhaps its most famous homegrown industry.

As we bump along terrible roads in my dad’s hot, noisy buttermilk-coloured Beetle, I’m unable to take in the beauty of Jamaica’s north coast – its waterfalls and gin-clear sea, its lush fern-quilted interior and the majestic Blue Mountains my dad loved.

Cratcliffe and Robin Hood’s Stride are a collection of gritstone crags and boulders nestled against a Derbyshire hillside not far from Bakewell. It’s a beautiful place with a magical feel. Carved into the base of the cliff is a small chapel – the “hermit’s cave” – and in the next field, the Nine Stones Close stone circle is over two metres high and 3,000 years old. Only four stones remain. Rowtor Rocks, a nearby jumble of boulders, has a plethora of little dwellings carved into the rocks that you can explore. No wonder the local pub is called The Druid Inn...Frances

Air Canada flyers will have two new Toronto-area destinations to choose from come May. That's when Landline, the flight-on-a-bus operator that partners with the likes of American Airlines and United Airlines, will launch new "flights" connecting Hamilton and Kitchener in Ontario to Air Canada's hub at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).

Jamaica’s position as a leader in tourism resilience building has been further bolstered following the announcement that UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) has forged a major partnership with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), which is being rebranded as the Global Tourism Resilience Centre (GTRC). It was also outlined that UN Tourism will continue to partner with Destination Jamaica in hosting the Global Tourism Resilience Day Conference moving forward. The announcements were made jointly by Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett and UN Tourism Secretary-General H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili as they marked the second annual observance of Global Tourism Resilience Day (February 17) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (2nd left) presents a special gift to members of the World Bank team: Director for the Caribbean, Lilia Burunciuc (2nd right); Programme Leader, Nataliya Mylenko (1st left); and Senior Operations Analyst, Jhanelle-Rae Bowie, following a high-level meeting alongside other members of the Ministry’s team.

I grew up with African food, but in a Lebanese way.Let’s take my mum’s okra stew — the African version is filled with fried fish, cow foot, sheep tail, oxtail and beef all in one stew — while Lebanese cooking is quite simplistic and based around fresh salads and grills, that sort of stuff. So, the stew she’d make would have none of that, just beef, and it wouldn’t be made with palm oil. It was African food but in a tame way, because of my Lebanese dad. Whenever my mum makes it, I go absolutely mental — it warms up your belly, is full of good nutrients and is a different flavour to anything you’ve ever had before. My grandma once made it in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with fufu (pounded cassava root and green plantains, rolled into small balls) — proper authentic. I choked on a fish bone but it was the best meal I’ve ever had.

With dozens of luxurious all-inclusive resorts and some of the most popular attractions in the Caribbean, a trip to Jamaica can be pricey. But it doesn’t have to be. 

Set between the beauty of the Caribbean Sea and the craggy ridges of the Blue Mountain range, Jamaica’s attractions range from hidden waterfalls and white-sand beaches to historical architecture, great food and unique ecosystems.

There are so many natural and cultural treasures dotted all over the island of Jamaica that it's no wonder visitors continue to come back years after their first trip.

It's no secret that Jamaica excels at white sand beaches and sensual, apricot-colored sunsets. What travelers often overlook is the island's road trip appeal. 

Ask any Jamaican when the best time to visit the island is and why, and they’ll probably give a list of reasons to visit all year round. 

The Norse Atlantic Airways inaugural flight from London Gatwick arrived on 1st December 2023 into Montego Bay with hundreds of excited holidaymakers on board. The much-anticipated flight was given an auspicious welcome amidst a press fanfare at the Sangster International Airport.  The arrival of the historic flight introduced the beginning of a new chapter in travel between the United Kingdom and Jamaica.  The occasion reflects the commitment of both nations to foster mutual growth in the tourism industry, creating boundless opportunities for both Jamaican and British travellers alike. 

Jamaica’s feature within 007: Road To A Million showcases the captivating beauty of Kingston and the richness of Jamaican culture on a global stage.

Jamaica has a long association with the James Bond film franchise - it has provided a plethora of iconic locations, such as Doctor Kananga’s underground lair in Live and Let Die (1973) at Green Grotto Caves, and the waterfall from the first Bond film, Dr. No (1962), at Ocho Rios’ Dunn’s River Falls. Now, from the producers behind the James Bond films, comes the thrilling television series 007: Road To A Million.

Jamaica shared company with New Zealand, Costa Rica and Cyprus as it middled the 2023 Global Law and Order Report by respected Washington DC, United States based international analytics firm, Gallup, Inc.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed the announcement by American Airlines that it will be commencing a new service to the Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) in Boscobel, St. Mary on February 24, 2024.