PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Opposition Leader Andrew Holness yesterday congratulated Sprint king Usain Bolt and shot putter O’Dayne Richards on their medal-winning performances at the 15th IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

At the same time, Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill said Bolt’s 100m victory will help to further boost the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB’s) efforts to market the island as a visitor destination.

“I salute Usain as a national brand ambassador extraordinaire, not only for taking the best of Jamaica to the world, but also for his superb representation of the best of athletics and sports in general,” the prime minister said in a statement, adding that Bolt continues to inspire Jamaica and the world with his legendary performance on the track.

Stating that all the athletes who have participated in Beijing so far have done Jamaica proud, the prime minister also had high praise for Richards, who won Jamaica’s first shot put medal (bronze) at a World Championships equalling the national record of 21.69 metres.

“All Jamaicans applaud O’Dayne most heartily for his signal achievement as he establishes Jamaica’s athletic prowess in another area of the sport,” she said.

Holness, in his statement, said Bolt has distinguished himself as a truly legendary athlete and has proven to the world once again that he is still the man. He said Bolt’s ability to rise to the occasion is truly remarkable and that his victory has made Jamaicans at home and abroad extremely proud.

Holness added that Richards has placed Jamaica in the spotlight by earning the country’s first World Championship shot put medal and showing to the world that “we not only have excellent runners, but that we are able to establish a strong presence in other sports”.

Meanwhile, Dr McNeill extended congratulations to Bolt for “successfully defending his title in such fine style”.

McNeill and Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook are scheduled to leave the island tomorrow for Beijing to participate in JTB activities aimed at marketing Jamaica during the championships, which will end on August 30.

According to McNeill, Bolt’s latest victory will give a significant boost to the JTB’s Jamaica House promotional efforts.

“It’s good to hear reggae music back in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and Usain has again put Jamaica on the front pages all across the globe,” a news release from the tourism ministry quoted McNeill.

The ministry said that McNeill and Pennicook will attend a number of JTB promotional events, which are intended to market Jamaica and further strengthen the links between China and Jamaica. This includes the JTB-hosted Jamaica House Beijing, which seeks to capitalise on the global focus on the Jamaica track and field team at this major sporting event.

“Modelled on the Jamaica House concept which proved to be highly successfully at the 2012 London Olympics, the IAAF World Championships Moscow 2013, and the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Jamaica House Beijing seeks to present an alluring ‘snapshot’ of Jamaican culture, food and music, highlighting the destination both as a place to visit as well as to do business,” the tourism ministry said.

“Tour operators TUI Travel and Virgin Holidays both credit meetings at Jamaica House at the 2012 London Olympics with their decision to increase service and investment in Jamaica. In the following year, 2013, Jamaica had 4.5 per cent growth in visitor arrivals out of the UK, breaking four consecutive years of negative growth out of this market; 2014 saw 17.1 per cent growth and already for 2015 this important market is up 24 per cent. It is hoped that the Beijing promotional activities will positively impact the China market in much the same way and help to attract more Chinese visitors to the island,” the ministry said.

It added that in February 2014, the Jamaican Government approved the conditional waiving of visa requirements for Chinese nationals travelling to Jamaica for tourism purposes for periods of 30 days or less in a bid to ease travel between the two countries.