Jamaica prepares for return of cruise sector

Friday, December 3, 2021

Jamaica minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed the return of the cruise sector to the Caribbean destination.

The minister said the arrival of Carnival Glory at Montego Bay Cruise Port would allow the island to “cross a major threshold in its tourism recovery”.

The conquest-class cruise ship has a maximum capacity of 2,980 passengers and 1,150 crew members.

Bartlett said that they certainly look forward to welcoming Carnival passengers to our shores and assure them that this will be a memorable but very safe experience.

Montego Bay Cruise Port was itself recently recognised as the Caribbean’s Leading Home Port by voters at the World Travel Awards.

The return of cruise to the second city in Jamaica is being managed by the Port Authority of Jamaica, the ministry of health and wellness, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and Jamaica Vacations (JAMVAC).

Within the Resilient Corridors, travellers will be able to tour facilities and participate in pre-arranged excursions.

Our first objective was, and continues to be, instilling confidence in travellers.

Carnival Corporation recently committed to sending 110 or more cruises, by its various brands, to the island between October and April next year.

The announcement followed discussions between Bartlett, local tourism officials and senior Carnival Corporation executives during recent meetings.

The meetings formed part of a major marketing blitz, which saw the minister and his team visiting the main tourism source markets of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom and the emerging market of the Middle East.

Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with its headquarters in Doral, Florida.

The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation

Organisation of American States

Elsewhere today, minister Bartlett has been elected chair of the Inter-American Committee on Tourism Committee at the Organisation of American States.

The news was confirmed during the ongoing UNWTO general assembly in Madrid.

The organisation is the most prestigious tourism body in the Americas, welcoming members from Latin America, the Caribbean and North America.

Accepting the role, Bartlett called on the region to not accept what was, nor what is, but what must be in order to overcome the issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He encouraged UNWTO member states to work in partnership for the future of tourism, based on innovation and investment.

The Inter-American Committees are subsidiary organs of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), including the CITUR committee on tourism.

The committees’ purpose is to lend continuity to the sectoral dialogue on partnership for development in a given sector, follow-up on the mandates issued at the ministerial level, and identify multilateral cooperation initiatives.

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