KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says he has mandated the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to present an action plan to increase visitor traffic from Canada.

Speaking this afternoon in the annual sectoral debate in the House of Representatives, Bartlett said that upon returning to the ministry in March of this year, he became acutely aware that the Canadian market suffered a decline of 6.8 per cent last year and a further 17 per cent this year.

“I have always held Canada in high regard, especially given the fact that while I was minister of tourism, between 2007 and 2011, we grew by over 100 per cent, from roughly 165,000 in 2007 to over 380,000 in 2011,” he said.

“When combined, our visitor arrivals from the US and Canadian markets are a little over 1.7 million; I am confident we can attract in excess of two million,” he added.

Bartlett stated that the initiative was part of a programme to better tap into tourism markets that Jamaica has long had, including the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe.

Balford Henry