Early Registration Unlocks Discounted Montego Bay Hotels for Jamaica Diaspora Conference

Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, is calling on Jamaicans in the diaspora who intend to attend the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference to complete registration early and arrange their stay as soon as possible to benefit from reduced room prices.

The conference will run from June 14 to 18 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James. Johnson Smith said the Government has worked out special accommodation offers with leading properties in the resort city.

“We have negotiated great early-bird rates with Half Moon, S Hotel, Ocean Coral Spring, Ocean Eden Bay and Iberostar,” Johnson Smith said, noting that those hotels are ready to receive visitors after Hurricane Melissa passed.

She also directed prospective participants to bjdc.mfaft.gov.jm for details, and said registrants must complete sign-up to receive the booking code tied to the discounted rates. “Go to that website, click on accommodation so you can see the rates. You have to register in order to get the code that will allow you to get the rate. But, we encourage you, therefore, to register, register early, and lock in your rate,” she said.

Johnson Smith argued that the offers are especially important because Jamaica now sees strong visitor demand across the full year. “Tourism in Jamaica is no longer seasonal … People want to come to Jamaica, and they want to come throughout the year. The rates that we have secured, we had to fight hard for them and they won't stay forever. So, we are encouraging you, register early, book early,” she said.

For travellers coming from overseas, the minister advised flying into Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to make movement to the conference venue and transport connections more straightforward. “When you're ready to go see the whole of the country and to go visit your family in St Catherine or St. Thomas, do that after. But fly into Sangster so that your transportation and links with the conference centre will be easy and right at hand,” she added.