KINGSTON, Jamaica – Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has expressed sympathy to the people of Haiti, Cuba and The Bahamas, including his colleague ministers of tourism, who have been impacted by the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

Bartlett, in a release Thursday, outlined that Jamaica stood ready to assist in rebuilding the tourism industry in the affected countries.

“We are all a part of the regional tourism family, so it is important that we are willing to help each other in times of need. Jamaica is eager to assist in rebuilding the sectors in these countries, even as we seek to collaborate with them in building regional tourism through initiatives, such as a multi-destination tourism framework,” said Bartlett.

The minister is currently in Armenia where in his capacity as Chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Board of Affiliate Members, he chaired the 38th Plenary Session of the UNWTO Affiliate Members.

“It is important for me to reach out to each minister across the region whose nation has been impacted, because I wanted them to know that I am available to assist in any way possible to rebuild the tourism sector,” shared Bartlett.

Bartlett’s comments came as normality has returned to Jamaica’s tourism sector with the nation being spared the brunt of Matthew..