Bartlett leads launch of Caribbean Tourism Supply-Side initiative

MANHATTAN, New York — Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Tourism Supply-Side Ministerial Committee, Edmund Bartlett on Thursday addressed the launch of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Supply-Side Initiative in New York, calling for a fundamental shift in how the region measures and develops its tourism economy.

Speaking under the theme: ‘Reimagining Caribbean Tourism’, Bartlett argued that the sector must move beyond traditional metrics of arrivals and occupancy to focus on how tourism stimulates local production, strengthens regional value chains, and retains wealth within Caribbean economies.

“What we must now prioritise is the extent to which tourism stimulates production, strengthens regional value chains, and retains wealth within our economies,” said Bartlett. “We are building a practical architecture for regional economic integration — one that connects what we produce, how we move it, and how it is consumed within the tourism economy.”

Central to the initiative is the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which will fund a demand-driven analysis of goods and services required by the regional tourism sector, identifying purchasing patterns across the Caribbean and assessing how much of that demand can be met by regional producers. The IDB will also support the development of a regional logistics hub framework, with Jamaica serving as the pilot.

That logistics work will build on the IDB’s existing support for Jamaica’s Special Economic Zone agenda, particularly the Caymanas SEZ, creating a direct link between industrial policy, trade facilitation, and tourism demand. The first phase of the initiative is expected to be completed by February 2027.

Bartlett described the initiative as a deliberate effort to connect agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, the creative industries, and technology to tourism demand — moving the Caribbean toward a model where regional producers supply regional hotels, and regional creatives shape authentic visitor experiences.

“If we execute this with discipline and unity of purpose, we will not only strengthen tourism — we will strengthen the economic architecture of the Caribbean itself,” Bartlett concluded.

The initiative brings together Caribbean governments, the CTO, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, and development partners in a coordinated effort to transform tourism into a sustained engine of regional economic development.