John Lynch was sitting comfortably in his Miami office when the private line rang. It was Edmund Bartlett, the newly elected Jamaican minister of tourism. I know it’s going to take you out of your well-earned comfort zone, but Jamaica needs you, Bartlett told him, almost apologetically.

Lynch could hardly have expected that Bartlett’s invitation to him to become chairman of the state-run Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) would catapult him to the centre of a furore, launched by the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), claiming conflict of interest.

Lynch, a tall and imposing man whose hearty laugh betrays dimpled cheeks, is an executive vice president of Unique Vacations Inc, worldwide representatives for Sandals Resorts, the phenomenally successful hotel chain owned by Jamaican Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart.

He asked the Sunday Observer to be patient while he refrained from public comment on the proposed appointment, wanting to wait until the matter has come out of the Bruce Golding-led Cabinet.

For more than 30 years, John D Lynch has been a steady force for many of the Caribbean’s most visible travel brands, including the country of Jamaica, the national airline, Air Jamaica, Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and the recently introduced Royal Plantation group of luxury boutique resorts.

Rising from the tour business, Lynch became one of the Caribbean’s most influential and sought-after marketing experts, a critical player in bringing worldwide attention and ultimately visitors, to the region.

It was that depth of experience that attracted Bartlett to Lynch whom he had met during the long, lean years covering the portfolio as opposition spokesman on tourism.

Bartlett, feeling that he had achieved a coup when he got Lynch to say ‘yes’ to the JTB chairmanship, pre-announced it last Monday to tourism interests gathered at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s 30th annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Immediately the news reached Jamaica, Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill issued a statement declaring the proposed appointment to be a conflict of interest, because of Lynch’s connection with a company representing Sandals.

“The principle is that the chairmanship of the Jamaica Tourist Board should be held by an independent person and should be free of any conflict of interest – perceived or otherwise,” McNeill said mid-week.

McNeill’s statement drew sharp retort from Stewart who issued a lengthy statement to the media, defending Lynch against a man he said had little or nothing to show for his time as junior minister of tourism in the previous PNP administration.

“Our organisation encourages and is extremely proud of those who have made the sacrifice to serve their country, namely Horace Peterkin, elected by his peers and who made a sterling contribution as JHTA president; as well as Wayne Cummings, the current president who fearlessly stands up for what the association voted him in to do; and Christopher Zacca as president of the PSOJ who is also doing a tremendous job,” said Stewart.

“The list of high achievers does not end there because Edward Khoury, the managing director of another company in the Group (the Jamaica Observer), is slated to be the next president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce. They are all leaders who stand up for what they believe in and for what is good in their country. Their achievements are worthy of emulation. We feel it is our job to build up Jamaica and the people who make up our organisation. a practice which the Opposition should have adopted many years ago,” Stewart shot back.

He described McNeill’s comments on Lynch as “nasty and despicable”, adding that “Mr Lynch and the many others who are a part of Sandals or our worldwide representatives, Unique Vacations Inc, know the industry better and have served their country with more conviction than many who have held public official positions”.

Lynch began his travel career as general manager of JAM, a Jamaica-based tour company. Through partnerships with Intercontinental Hotels and the Maritz Travel Company, JAM became one of the island’s leading ground transportation companies at that time and a precursor of today’s destination management companies.

In April 1972, he began a 14-year association with the JTB where he was promoted to administrative assistant to the general manager in December that year. He resigned his JTB job in April 1974 but was invited back as senior manager, trade services in June 1977. A year later, he was appointed assistant/acting director of tourism for trade services; then regional director for Chicago in February 1979, before being appointed deputy director for sales, marketing and conventions, overseas offices in 1982, spurred on by the award-winning ‘Come Back to Jamaica’ campaign that significantly increased visitor arrivals during his tenure. He resigned from the JTB in the position as director, international operations on January 17, 1991.

In 1991, Lynch became president and CEO of Luxury Resorts Marketing, the promotional and marketing arm of Ciboney Ocho Rios, a Radisson Resort which was making its first foray into the all-inclusive market. A year later he joined Sandals Resorts as executive vice president of sales worldwide.

From his Miami office, Lynch oversees public relations, sales promotions, and group sales for all Sandals Resorts brands worldwide and has been an integral part of the company’s aggressive expansion beyond Jamaica that now includes Antigua and Barbuda, the Turks and Caicos islands, The Bahamas and St Lucia.

For Sandals, Lynch is credited with the creation of the now trademarked WeddingMoon concept that combines a wedding and honeymoon and that has become synonymous with the destination wedding trend.

For 10 years, Lynch was an active member of the board of directors of Air Jamaica, where he was instrumental in the airline’s significant rebranding in 1994 and consequent route expansion that brought more flights to Jamaica from more cities around the world, while introducing new Caribbean destinations to Air Jamaica’s portfolio.

Lynch was recently named a member of the Air Jamaica Board by new transport minister, Mike Henry.

Currently, Lynch is third vice-president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, chairing its influential marketing committee. He sits on the board of directors for the Caribbean Tourism Development Corporation, a coming together of the Caribbean’s most influential tourism entities: the Caribbean Hotel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.