Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett
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Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett, speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica's tourism product achieved one of the fastest post-covid recoveries in the region over the last five years.
During his contribution to the sectoral debate in the Hous of Representatives on Tuesday, Mr Bartlett highlighted what he called 25 major successes of the Tourism Sector up to 2025, starting with the 4.4 million visitors and US$4.3 billion earned in 2024, exceeding the pre-pandemic level."
It was tourism, he said, which drove ten consecutive quarters of economic growth for the Jamaican economy.
He expressed confidence that the country was on target to achieve its "5x5x5" growth target: attracting five million visitors and earning five billion (US) dollars in the year 2025.
Pension scheme
Mr Bartlett added that the world's first tourism pension scheme, launched in 2022, covering workers aged 18-59, has been a major success.
He revealed that, to date 10,567 individuals have registered and contributed J$4.3 billion to the pension scheme, and over that period "more than three billion dollars have been invested or committed."
He also reiterated that thousands of new hotel rooms are being constructed, costing billions of US dollars.
The Tourism Minister told the House that the Agri-Linkages Exchange has resulted in more than 2,000 small farmers in excess of $1.2 billion from supplying produce to hotels since 2017.
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