Minister of tourism meets with Canadian travel industry leaders

JAMAICA’S MINISTER of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and Director of Tourism Donovan White visited Canada in September for a series of meetings with the country’s travel industry leaders. Along with the Jamaica Tourist Board’s regional director for Canada, Philip Rose, the team met with airline executives, tour operators, travel media, and influencers.

Reaffirming the strong tourism ties between the two countries, Minister Bartlett said, “I would like to thank our Canadian travel partners and the Canadian travel media for engaging consumers and continuing to promote Jamaica as a prime destination for Canadians year after year.” He continued, “The support that we have received from the Canadian travel network has been invaluable, and we look forward to building on that solid foundation in the months and years ahead.”

Director White, who was visiting Canada for the first time in his official capacity, is confident that the bond that Jamaica and Canada share will strengthen with time. “It has been an honour to meet such passionate and knowledgeable experts in the field,” said White. “I am delighted that these discussions have provided a truly phenomenal starting point for future initiatives between Destination Jamaica and our Canadian travel partners.”

As a result of the recent visit, Canadian airlines increased their seat capacity to Jamaica for the upcoming winter to meet the high consumer demand. A total of 43,900 more seats has been added over last year, with the growth coming from Sunwing, Air Canada Vacations, Air Transat, and WestJet.

Canadian arrivals to Jamaica continue to rise. Data for November 2017- April 2018 shows that arrivals to the island have increased by 3.5 per cent over the previous year.

Front row from left: Tim Croyle, vice-president and general manager of WestJet Vacations, and Minister of Tourism the Hon Edmund Bartlett (right). Back row from left: Philip Rose, Jamaica Tourist Board’s regional director, Canada; Cindy Gerhardt, product buyer, WestJet; Dave Cecco, director of product, WestJet Vacations; and Donovan White, director of tourism.

Jamaica’s minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett (right), shares lens time with (from left) Philip Rose, the Jamaica Tourist Board’s regional director for Canada; Brenda McInerney, product director, Transat; Donovan White, director of tourism; and Renée Boisvert, vice-president of products, Transat.

From left: Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, president at Sunwing Stephen Hunter, and Director of Tourism Donovan White following their meeting.

Director of Tourism Donovan White (right) engages Nino Montagnese, managing director, Air Canada Vacations (centre), and Dina Bertolo, vice-president of product development at Air Canada Vacations.