Purkiss accuses Bartlett of promoting ‘diversification myth’

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages, Andrea Purkiss has charged that Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is promoting a “diversification myth” over his frequent promises of expanding Jamaica’s tourism dependence to other markets other than the United States, from which Jamaica gets over 80 per cent of its visitors.

Purkiss made the charge on Tuesday during her contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

She cited that the tourism ministry has spent J$2.86 billion in its attempts to woo visitors from other destinations.

Instead, she said, what has materialised is that it has “guaranteed empty seats on airlines serving markets that barely register”.

“That is not diversification. That is expensive theatre,” Purkiss remarked as she reminded the Parliament that Bartlett announced a strategy to grow the tourism industry with a five pillar plan. She said chief among these was tapping into new markets. She also pointed out that the minister has often spoken of the need to not to be “overdependent” on the North American market.

Purkiss pointed to the Covid pandemic when she said Bartlett highlighted Jamaica’s “one basket vulnerability”. She quoted Bartlett saying, “We cannot put all our eggs in the one basket of North America. If that market sneezes Jamaica catches pneumonia. True economic resilience demands that we open direct paths to the south and across the Atlantic”.

In 2022, Purkiss said the tourism minister stated that “Our high dependence on source markets like the US and Canada leaves us entirely at the mercy of external border decisions, flights cancellation and foreign health advisories. Diversification is no longer an option; it is a matter of survival”.

And Purkiss cited when Bartlett “reiterated that we are moving to break the historically singular reliance by opening the Middle Eastern and African markets. We need visitors whose travel habits are decoupled from the economic cycles of the United States”.

Regarding the Middle East, Purkiss noted that the minister travelled to Riyadh and Dubai promising a Middle Eastern corridor. “By the end of 2025, the arrival count was a mere net increase of 330,” she said.

Regarding Africa, she reminded that he travelled to Nigeria in 2021, “staged a massive photo opportunity and promised a historic gateway”.

But, according to the opposition spokesperson, by the end of 2025, the arrival count was a paltry 1,440, a net growth of exactly 320 people over his baseline. Purkiss told the Parliament that Bartlett’s visit to India, one the largest and fastest-growing countries in the world, produced an increase of just 360 visitors.

“In Jamaica there is a saying that talk is cheap and this is costing us,” she said while pointing to what she described as a concept in the tourism ministry that is termed ‘Seat Support’. This, she said, is merely a disguise for flights to Jamaica.

“Since 2015, this administration has spent over J$2.86 billion on seat support. It would be good if the minister could report to the Parliament on the amounts spent on achieving less than half of a per cent of our visitor arrivals,” she said.

—Lynford Simpson