TORONTO — There’s a reason why people sometimes refer to Edmund Bartlett as a prophet. It’s because he once saw the future.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, who was in Toronto last week for a ‘winter marketing blitz,’ tells Travelweek that the nickname was given to him in 2021 while visiting satellite offices for the Global Tourism Resilience Centre, an initiative that he established to help manage crises that disrupt tourism.  

Obviously, having a resource centre that specialized in destination management and crisis recovery was essential during the pandemic. But here’s where his prophecy comes into play – Minister Bartlett created the centre in 2018, two years before the start of COVID-19 in March 2020.

“Well ahead of the pandemic, we recognized the vulnerability of the industry to external shocks. We saw it with 9/11, with SARS and the economic downturn of 2008,” says the Minister. “So we established the centre in 2018 to track disruptions before they arise and mitigate against them. By the time COVID came, Jamaica had already established a special task force and we spent time building out a 20-point protocol that aligned with guidelines set out by WHO (World Health Organization) and WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council).”

This forward-thinking allowed Jamaica to safely reopen its borders in June 2020, within three months of COVID-19’s onset. Between June 2020 and June 2021, the island had welcomed back one million visitors to its shores at a time when many countries were still closed to international tourists. Minister Bartlett and the entire Ministry, as well as the Jamaica Tourist Board and other local authorities, emerged as leading examples in the early days of the pandemic, praised for such initiatives as the Jamaica CARES program featuring compulsory traveller protection and emergency medical services, and Jamaica’s ‘Resilient Corridor,’ a stretch of coastline where designated hotels and resorts had implemented stringent health and safety measures.

Today, Jamaica is “back to normal,” thanks in large part to leading markets like Canada, which has contributed more than 300,000 visitor arrivals so far this year. Recognizing Canada’s massive potential, Minister Bartlett spent last week meeting with airlines, tour operators and travel agents as part of his latest mission to attract 500,000 Canadian visitors by 2025. 

“Canada is growing and is a strong, good product,” says the Minister. “The growth from the Canadian market has been promising and response from Canada has been particularly good in the post-COVID era. While 500,000 Canadians by 2025 is within sight, my final ambition is to welcome one million Canadians by 2030.”

AIRLINE TALKS

In order to reach 500,000 annual Canadian visitors in the next two years, Minister Bartlett knows that airlift from Canada will need to be increased. Between November 2023 and April 2024, more than 260,000 seats will be flying into Jamaica from Canada, nearly 10,000 more than 2019, with airlines like Sunwing, Transat, WestJet, Air Canada Rouge, Caribbean Airlines and Flair, plus Canada Jetlines, which announced last month that it will be launching Toronto-Montego Bay service on Nov. 5. 

But Minister Bartlett is looking for even more capacity from Canada, which is why he spent much of last week meeting with airlines to discuss bolstering airlift and how to navigate current challenges.

“The immediate post-COVID landscape has been characterized by a number of disruptions to human capital, supply and equipment. The biggest constraints right now are about the availability of equipment, aircraft and pilots,” says the Minister. “We have to find ways to incentivize airlines and enable higher levels of efficiencies so that returns can be stronger. It’s not just about load factor but also about yields. We’re all in this together.”

When asked whether Jamaica will be focusing on increasing airlift out of other Canadian gateways beyond Toronto, Minister Bartlett says talks are ongoing.

“Many of the legacy carriers are using Toronto, of course, as their hub. So now we have to move traffic from the secondary airports into Toronto. We’re talking with airlines about that, the capacity to do that so that we won’t be losing value in the Monctons and Reginas and Vancouvers,” he adds.

ASIAN OUTREACH

Getting to that 500,000 milestone also means tapping into new markets, particularly Canada’s 1.7 million-strong Chinese community, which Minister Bartlett says has been largely overlooked by the destination until now. 

“Like everything else, business goes where it’s invited, and stays where it’s appreciated. I think the invitation has not been made directly to that segment of the market – but we’re doing it now,” he says.

During last week’s marketing blitz, Minister Bartlett served as the guest speaker at a special event organized by Mandarin Holidays and attended by more than 100 Chinese travel agents. When asked what feedback he received from agents, he says they’re very excited to sell the destination.

“They know Jamaica, they know the product, and some were actually just in Jamaica to attend JAPEX so they had a chance to familiarize themselves with the landscape. They like Jamaica and know about the variety of experiences their clients can have in Jamaica, of which there are more than all of the Caribbean combined. As we all know, people travel to fulfill their passions. Our job is to build products around these passion points,” says the Minister.

Minister Bartlett at a Mandarin Holidays event in Toronto

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

Of course, 500,000 Canadians will need a place to stay once they arrive in Jamaica, which is why 20,000 new hotel rooms are being added in the next 10 years, 2,000 of which are coming next year, says Minister Bartlett.

The destination has also enhanced its communication network and infrastructure, adding broadband Internet service across the island, and expanding roads and highways so that it’s now possible to drive from either Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay or Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston to any of Jamaica’s resort destinations within 90 minutes.

To entice repeat visitors who’ve already seen it all in Jamaica, Minister Bartlett also tells Travelweek that the destination is developing two new tourist areas, one on the southeastern end of the country and the other in the southwest. 

“We’ve created a new highway that runs from Norman Manley airport, southeast towards a parish called St. Thomas, home to perhaps our last eight miles of pristine, white sand,” he says. “It’s also rich in biodiversity, boasts the finest hotsprings and the oldest botanical garden in the Western Hemisphere, and is home to several Jamaican Maroon (African descendants who freed themselves from slavery) communities,” says Minister Bartlett, adding that while there are currently no resorts in St. Thomas, there are a number of small boutique properties.

In the southwest, the Minister says the Treasure Beach area has “a lot of possibility for further expansion.” Ideal for those in search of “rustic luxury,” the area is already known for “community-conscious tourism” that’s dedicated to preserving Jamaica’s environmental integrity. 

Jamaica is currently hosting Tourism Awareness Week, which runs from Sept. 24-30 under the theme ‘people, planet and prosperity.’ For more information on travel to Jamaica, go to https://www.visitjamaica.com/canada/.