KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett says that Jamaica is well positioned to partake in the booming health and wellness tourism market, which represents 1.8 per cent of global GDP.

Speaking at the inaugural Spa Standards and Sensitisation Workshop on Wednesday, the minister shared that the Health and Wellness sectors, of which spas play a major role, has been identified as one of the key areas of focus under his ministry’s growth strategy.

“We have created a special segment in our Linkages Network, which focuses solely on developing the health and wellness industry. We recognise that the warmth of our climate, the development of nutraceuticals and natural hot springs are among the products that have become essential to a growing market,” explained the minister.

He noted that, “our research indicates that spa tourism alone represents a $179.7 billion market and a wellness tourist spends 65 per cent more than an average tourist. So, what we are doing here today is encouraging more spas to meet international standards so that we can encourage more of these tourists to visit the island.”

The sensitisation workshop, which took place at the Eden Gardens Wellness Resort and Spa, was hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network of the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica and the Ministry of Health. The ministry targeted spas across the island with the primary objective of driving adoption of the JS319 standards in spa operations, as set by the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica.