KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett departed the island yesterday for Lisbon, Portugal, to participate in The World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony, where recent Jamaican awardees will go head-to-head with other winners of WTA’s six regional ceremonies, for the coveted world titles.

The event, which will take place at Lisbon’s historic Pátio da Galé today, marks the climax of the WTA Grand Tour 2018 – an annual search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world.

Government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media from across the globe will attend.

“I am very excited to join our Jamaican tourism pioneers as they are acknowledged for the fantastic work being done to further develop our industry. I am confident that Jamaica will do well as we compete with the best of the best across the globe and look forward to sharing the fantastic news of the number of new accolades we attain, on my return back home,” Bartlett said in a release from his ministry.

WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. 

The tourism ministry said Bartlett will then travel to Istanbul to attend the third UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: For the Benefit of All, which will be hosted by the Government of Turkey, during the period 3- 5 December, 2018.

According to the release, the conference will build up on the outcomes of the First and the Second World Conferences on Tourism and Culture held in Cambodia and Oman in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

“A key component of this forum will be the ministerial segment that will bring together ministers of tourism and culture.  Ministers were invited to participate in this special session and to share their views and look for joint solutions.

“The forum will also focus on sustainable and creative urban development through cultural tourism, building capacity to preserve cultural diversity and heritage in accordance with responsible tourism principles, and on technological innovation as a key ally in this endeavour,” the ministry added.

Bartlett will be accompanied by John Lynch, Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony 2018 in Lisbon today.  He will then travel alone to Turkey and return to the island on December 06.