Photo source: jis

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, is calling for a paradigm shift in the way that tourism is viewed in Jamaica.

He said that as the country returns from the vagaries of the COVID-19 pandemic, “partners and all stakeholders” should be aware of the fact that never again will it “be business as usual.”

He noted that if there is one caveat that “could and will work” in the country’s favor, is that Jamaica, over the past eight months, “has done everything humanly possible to demonstrate to all and sundry” that it remains “one of the most COVID-19-resilient countries” in the world.

“It will, however, not be business as usual. I have always maintained that the once glorified sand, sun, and sea will no longer be an automatic sell, and COVID-19 has just dispelled that myth in no uncertain manner,” the Minister said.

“One could correctly surmise that I was being prophetic in 2019 when I said or suggested that the way forward would be a complete reimagining of the tourism sector. Now COVID-19 has all but made that concept a reality… if we are to move positively forward and to regain our stature as the destination of choice in the region,” he added.

Mr. Bartlett said the Tourism Ministry would be “re-intensifying” its focus on the recovery of the sector, adding that there has to be a new mindset if “we are to regain our footing” as one of the premier “and much-featured destinations on planet Earth.”

Nigel Bell Readers Bureau, Contributor        

Edited by Jesus Chan

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