MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA – February 18, 2009 – Ground broke on Saturday, February 14 in Rose Hall, St. James to begin construction of the Montego Bay Convention Centre.  The highly anticipated facility will be built on 35 acres of land opposite the Shoppes at Rose Hall (between the Half Moon Golf Course and Rose Hall Great House) and is aimed at strengthening Jamaica’s participation in the growing groups and convention market.

The project is financed through a 350 million Yuan (RMB) or US$51 million loan agreement between the Government of Jamaica and the China Import and Export Bank.  Construction is expected to be completed in 20 months.

Speaking at the official groundbreaking, Prime Minister Bruce Golding noted that Montego Bay added over 2,000 rooms in the last few years, bringing its capacity to just over 11,000.  Of that number 3,760 are located along the Rose Hall corridor.  “This financing of the convention centre signals the continuation of the growing economic co-operation between both countries and of China’s willingness to help Jamaica expand, grow and develop,” said Prime Minister Golding.

According to the Prime Minister the facility when completed will stand as a lasting monument of the close bond of friendship between Jamaica and China.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett in bringing greetings noted that already several organizations have been lining up to take advantage of the facility.  “The Convention Centre will be part of the critical infrastructure necessary to facilitate the repositioning of Jamaica as an events destination in the global tourism market,” stated Bartlett.

The Montego Bay Convention Centre is intended to provide space for meetings and conventions, to enhance the tourist industry, to increase foreign exchange earnings and to provide additional employment for persons in the western region of Jamaica.

The Centre is being designed as a modern state of the art facility, capable of hosting large and small meetings, conferences, exhibitions, banquets, weddings and other events.  The Centre will provide over 50,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, over 20,000 sq. ft. of banquet facility and over 11,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.

Lyndon Taylor

1-877-JTB NEWS

jtbnews@ruderfinn.com

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JAMAICA EXPERIENCES ANOTHER YEAR OF TOURISM GROWTH FROM THE UNITED STATES IN 2008

KINGSTON, JAMAICA – February 18, 2009 – The Jamaica Tourist Board has announced that 2008 was another year of growth for its tourism industry. The island’s stopover arrivals increased by 3.9 percent, with a total of 1,769,271 visitors. Of that number, 1,150,942 of the arrivals came from the United States – representing a 1.6 percent increase from that market over 2007.

“The United States has historically been the largest source market for Jamaica’s tourism,” said John Lynch, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. “Though current economic hardships pose a challenge to the travel industry, we are confident that travelers from the United States will consider Jamaica’s accessibility and value when considering a vacation destination in the coming year.”

The number of travelers to Jamaica from the U.S. continues to remain very strong, with the U.S. making up more than 65 percent of all the island’s visitors in 2008.

Poised for Growth

With more hotel rooms and attractions coming on board, travelers will have more variety than ever when planning a Jamaican getaway.

• The Riu Montego Bay opened last fall with 681 rooms
• The Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort, Iberostar Rose Hall Suites and Iberostar Rose Hall Grand now offer 978 rooms combined
• Scheduled to open in June this year, Solis the Palmyra Resort & Spa, the island’s first luxury beachfront residential community, offers 299 guestrooms plus one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom suites, penthouses and private villas
• The Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort and Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort, part of the Fiesta Hotel Group, feature 1,056 rooms

A range of new and expanded attractions is also adding to Jamaica’s new dynamic. The attractions are themed to showcase the island’s rich history and cultural heritage while at the same time being entertaining and informative. Opened last summer, Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios is one of Jamaica’s new environmentally friendly attractions, which has been a magnet for new and returning visitors.

Travelers across the U.S. will find that Jamaica is easy to get to, with service from the major airlines out of many major gateways across the U.S. Furthermore, Jet Blue is adding new nonstop service from New York to Montego Bay in May 2009, providing another option for travelers.

To learn more about Jamaica’s variety of offerings, or to book a trip, go to www.visitjamaica.com.

Debbie Ehrman

1-877-JTB NEWS

jtbnews@ruderfinn.com

UNWTO TO CO-SPONSOR JAMAICA’S TOURISM OUTLOOK SEMINAR

Third Annual Seminar To Broaden Focus To The Caribbean Region

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA – February 17, 2009 – Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism the Hon. Edmund Bartlett and the Secretary General Elect of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Mr. Taleb Rifai have announced that the UNWTO will co-sponsor the third annual Tourism Outlook Seminar to be held in Jamaica next year. The announcement was made at a joint post-Seminar press conference at the Ritz Carlton Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica, following the recently held second annual Tourism Outlook Seminar.

Speaking at the post-seminar press conference, Minister Bartlett told journalists that Jamaica is honored to be given such an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in the tourism industry.  “I see this as a vote of confidence in Jamaica’s tourism leadership in that after two years of hosting the Tourism Outlook Seminar, an international body like the UNWTO can see it fit to partner with us to support its expansion,” noted Bartlett.

UNWTO Secretary General Elect Taleb Rifai commended Jamaica on organizing such a seminar and said he was privileged to have been invited to participate.  Mr. Rifai further said he was impressed by the quality of thinking and debate which emanated from the seminar. In announcing his organization’s support of next year’s event, Mr. Rifai said he believes it is in keeping with the UNWTO’s mandate. “The Caribbean is an important region which must work together to survive, even while competing with each other,  and we are pleased to announce that the third annual Tourism Outlook Seminar will be jointly sponsored by the UNWTO,” Rifai told journalists. According to Mr. Rifai, next year’s seminar will bring together senior representatives from his organization and will target Jamaica’s neighbors in the Caribbean. 

In his remarks, Mr. Rifai said the United Nations World Tourism Organization would welcome greater participation by Jamaica in the various organs of the UNWTO, particularly at the global level.

Lyndon Taylor

1-877-JTB NEWS

jtbnews@ruderfinn.com