MINISTER of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook are slated to meet with several tourism stakeholders in Japan as part of efforts to re-engage the market and grow visitor traffic to Jamaica.

Bartlett, who left the island last Sunday, will also meet with representatives from various airlines and prospective investors at a reception being hosted in his honour by Jamaican Ambassador to Japan Ricardo Allicock. He is also expected to meet with Chairman of the Ueshima Coffee Company to discuss a proposed coffee festival in Jamaica and related tourism activities.

According to Bartlett, two decades ago Jamaica received upwards of 20,000 Japanese visitors per annum, but this has since declined to roughly 2,000 per annum, due in part to a long economic slowdown in Japan, among other factors.

“However, with the world’s fourth-largest economy and a population of over 127 million still humming along, and over 17 million people travelling overseas every year, I believe we have an opportunity to re-engage Japan on a more sustained basis and increase visitor traffic to Jamaica,” Bartlett said.

According to a media release from the tourism ministry, Bartlett has also been invited to speak at the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Conference on Tourism and Technology, which is being held in Nara, Japan on June 2. The minister will be one of the presenters for Session 3 of the conference, which will focus on ‘Tourism and Travel Innovations and New Business Models’.

The one-day international conference is being held in conjunction with the 28th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia & the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia, taking place in Japan from from today until Saturday.

Bartlett will also participate in statutory UNWTO meetings as chair of the Board of Affiliate Members of the UNWTO, and will engage with all the ministers of tourism from South Asia and Pacific countries.

Bartlett returns to the island on June 6.