JAPEX creating buzz among int’l partners, says tourism director
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Director of Tourism Donovan White is reporting an overwhelming interest among international partners in the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX), which is set for September and will be staged at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James as well as carried virtually.
As a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, JAPEX — Jamaica’s leading tourism trade show — went virtual last year.
“We’re looking forward to things like JAPEX coming up in September to be our first [physical] JAPEX since COVID. Last year, as you know, we went virtual; this year we’re doing a combination of virtual and in-person. So far, the appetite for that has been phenomenal in terms of our partners wanting to come to Jamaica and feel the destination again, and to really embrace our local destination partners so that contracting and doing business can get back to normal,” White declared.
“So we’re very excited and as [the] minister [of tourism] rightly says, you know, we’re not resting on our laurels and we take nothing for granted,” he added.
White also disclosed that much interest is also being generated internationally over this year’s staging of the Jamaica Bridal Expo, which is usually held alongside JAPEX at the convention centre.
The director of tourism explained, “We are looking to do our large wedding show in September, right next to JAPEX.
“Usually we bring in somewhere in the order of about 350 travel agents for the wedding show, which is a huge show for us in terms of that particular market. We’re still looking at those numbers now to see how they will comport with the protocols when that time comes, and so it’s hard to say now what those numbers will be like because you have to be guided by the protocols and the limitations that will come where that is concerned as it relates to the capacity of the Montego Bay Convention Centre.”
He was speaking to reporters following the arrival of Edelweiss Air’s inaugural flight between Zurich, Switzerland, and Montego Bay, Jamaica, at the Sangster International Airport on Monday night.
Edelweiss is recognised as the leading Swiss leisure travel airline, with flights from Zurich to more than 70 destinations.
On Sunday, Air Canada’s Dreamliner flight from Toronto, Canada, and Condor from Frankfurt, Germany, arrived at the Montego Bay airport.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who led the tourism officials’ welcoming party for the Edelweiss Air flight, noted that it is “a game-changer in terms of boosting connectivity out of that section of Europe” .
“Now we’re seeing that the demand for Jamaica is more concentrated and that individual countries have the capacity to drive numbers sufficient to bring an aircraft non-stop into Montego Bay,” Bartlett noted.
“So, coming from Zurich — which is the money centre of the Nordics, the richest city that side of Europe — is a big statement that Jamaica is not just seen as a vacation centre for the economy class, but is seen also from the well-heeled and the high network of the demographic,” added.
He said, too, that on Sunday, Jamaica had its first flight out of Europe “in a very serious way”.
“And today [Monday] we continued and we are seeing now with European [countries] being open, with Canada and United States open, then Jamaica is going to see that recovery that we have looked [to] for the return of jobs,” the tourism minister added.
In the meantime, the director of tourism argued that “it is not by chance” that Jamaica’s tourism sector is recovering in the way that it is, as the Jamaica Tourist Board has been working consistently to attract visitors, despite the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We work very hard for the demand that we have created and we have spared no effort in the marketplace to ensure that Jamaica is positioned as one of the best destinations available to travellers who are ready to travel,” White said.