Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett last night welcomed more than 700 Kiwanis club members from the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District for their annual convention at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. The 2024 Kiwanis Eastern Canada and Caribbean (EC&C) District Convention is being held from May 16-18, 2024. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister Bartlett described the event as “this very important convention that is setting the stage for discourses in various areas of human development, with a particular emphasis on children.” Kiwanis is a global organization in over 80 countries with more than half a million members dedicated to improving the world one child, one community at a time, through its mantra “Serving the Children of the World.” Against this background, Minister Bartlett in his keynote address, said: “There are some little ones that are coming up in whose hands the future of the world rests, and in whose lives the prosperity of planet Earth is going to be predicated.” He anticipated that the discourse at the convention would be heavily focused around service and adding value to service, targeting the planet, people and prosperity.
Investment in Tourism on the Rise - Minister Bartlett
08.05.2024 - 08:12 / breakingtravelnews.com
Investment in Jamaica’s tourism industry has soared to new heights with existing hotel companies expanding their stake while new investors are in line to build new properties.
During his 2024/2025 Sectoral Debate opening presentation in Parliament earlier this week, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett underscored that “confidence in Jamaica’s dynamic tourism industry remains steadfast, laying a solid foundation for remarkable growth in the years ahead.” He said with the imminent completion of 2,000 new rooms this year, significant strides are being made towards the target of adding 20,000 rooms within the next ten to fifteen years.
On Saturday, May 4 the 753-room Riu Palace Aquarelle will be officially opened in Trelawny, to be followed later in the month by the opening of the first 1,000 rooms of the Princess Grand Jamaica in Green Island, Hanover. Also, the 450-room Unico Hotel in Montego Bay is aiming for an opening date next summer.
He noted that “these developments signify expansion and demonstrate our commitment to providing world-class hospitality experiences to visitors from around the world,” Minister Bartlett added that construction start up dates or development plans were also being awaited for thousands more resort rooms.
High on the list is Princess Resorts, which will add another 1,000 rooms to complement those that are now near completion. Also in Hanover, Grand Palladium in Lucea will expand with an additional 1,000 rooms and further west, the Wyndham brand will rise again in Jamaica with the construction of Viva Wyndham’s just under 1,000 rooms just north of Negril. An exclusive high-end luxury development is also in the making for Westmoreland.
Meanwhile, work progresses on Hard Rock’s 1,100 rooms in Montego Bay, Secrets is expanding by just over 100 new suites, and a major new 1,285-room resort, the name not yet disclosed, is also slated for the island’s tourism Mecca.
The development of tourism continues in Trelawny with major hotel brands, Harmony Cove, Planet Hollywood and the expansion of H10 resort.
The Minister also outlined that Bahia Principe in St Ann is undertaking a multifaceted expansion project to include villas, condos, hotel rooms, a PGA-certified golf course, a fishing village, and housing for tourism workers, using a broadly environmentally sustainable development approach, while Secrets is set to develop a 700-room hotel in the Garden Parish.
Minister Bartlett emphasised that in addition to creating in excess of 30,000 new and part-time jobs, these developments promise to substantially benefit various sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, small businesses and the wider community.
“Jamaica is poised to welcome a wave of robust investments from
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