Tourism Minister gives charge to JHTA on Tourism 3.0 growth agenda

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has called on the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) to play a leading role in advancing Jamaica’s Tourism 3.0 growth agenda.

He is urging the lobby group for hoteliers to reimagine its role as the sector enters a new era of transformation. 

Addressing the JHTA’s 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier this week, the Minister announced plans to establish a National Tourism Council, which will bring together tourism investors and key government ministries to strengthen coordination and support the implementation of Tourism 3.0.

 “The JHTA is going to be the backbone of that council, so you have to reimagine yourself,” Minister Bartlett told the JHTA AGM. 

The Minister noted that the existing Tourism Linkages Council will be strengthened and morphed into the National Tourism Council.

Minister Bartlett also outlined plans to expand cruise tourism through new port developments on the South Coast, St. Thomas and Lucea, and to position Lucea as Jamaica’s maritime capital for pleasure boats and yachting.