As per Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett one million visitors came to Jamaica in the first nine weeks of 2019 which provided U.S. dollars 800 million as foreign exchange earnings.
The ministry is taking steps to further develop Jamaica’s Gastronomy Network. The ordinary Jamaicans will benefit significantly from the positive trends in the sector. As per the minister 88 per cent of the world travels for food experiences and Jamaica has the best opportunity to create the finest of the food experiences. This experience must be owned by the people of Jamaica, not foreigners.
The minister said: “The industry is now at the peak of its growth, and the beauty about us in tourism is that we make new peaks… because we are in a constant state of growth and evolution. This peak has allowed Jamaica to be the first Caribbean destination in nine weeks to welcome one million visitors”.
Minister Bartlett said the Tourism Linkages Network will spend more than U.S. dollars 300 million in the 2019/20 fiscal year towards the further development of the industry.
As per the minister Food tourism is going to be the major drive for a greater experiential tourism product in Jamaica. A larger number of ordinary Jamaicans are going to be involved in the value chain of tourism.
