TOURISM Minister Edmund Bartlett says the leisure experience and the cultural assets that are uniquely Jamaican are crucial to the “high touch” tourism product the island strives to produce.

“The reason people come is to find out what is new, what is different, what is special… and [they] want something… that will stay on [their] lips and abide with [them] when [they] leave the destination… so [they] have a conversation piece, something to share with neighbours.

“It is from the heart of the people, the soul of the people. Made in Jamaica, by Jamaicans, from the creativity of Jamaicans,” he continued.

The minister made the statement during the business session of the Sandals 17th Star Awards at Sandals Ochi Beach Club in St Ann on Friday, where some 500 travel agents from all across the globe were recognised for their contribution to Sandals Resorts International and by extension, the Caribbean’s tourism industry.

Some 4.3 million tourists visited Jamaica last year, pumping US$3 billion into the local economy, but the minister said he wants more; he wants Jamaica to be known as the finest destination on planet Earth.

“…We’re not giving quality service any more, we are giving exceptional service. we are giving ‘high touch’, and the ‘high touch service is the service that you can’t pay for. It is the service that I can’t define; you can only experience and feel. It is like the ‘irie’ that is in Jamaica. You hear people talk about, ‘Jamaica irie man’.

“What is irie? Bob Marley would say ‘irie is irie’; you just can’t define irie. It is a feeling, it is an emotion; but the good news is that only Jamaica can make you feel irie. So, in building destination assurance we want all our visitors to feel irie and I want you to start selling the irie Jamaica, because that’s what we are…” he added.

Bartlett championed that Sandals has set the innovation bar, given the fact that the hotel chain accounts for an enviable record of 42 per cent repeat business in the tourism industry. He went on to say that one in every two individual seen on the beaches, or anywhere in Jamaica, has revisited the country after their experience at Sandals.

Noting that service account for 60 per cent of a visitor travels, he congratulated Sandals for always scoring full marks.

Meanwhile, the minister informed the gathering of travel professionals that his team has been looking at the three S’s — safety, security and seamlessness.

He explained that the industry is driven by the feeling of confidence that a visitor needs to have in order to leave home.

“Sometimes we have to use methods that traditionally might have been regarded as a little outside of the way to make sure that safety, security and seamlessness continue… We are going to do it, and we want our partners to appreciate that these measures of heightened security arrangements are strategic. They are not knee-jerk responses; they are not responses for a society that has gone out of control, but they are strategic engagements to ensure that the principle of safety, seamlessness and security are always impact,” he argued.

He added that with the increased use of technology and the advancement of content through digital streams, the tourism product will maintain the principle that Jamaica is in the “happiness industry” and will strive to fulfil the responsibility of maximising happiness, joy and satisfaction among both locals and visitors.

Bartlett seized the opportunity to applaud the Star awardees for their contribution to the industry and thanked the approximately 120,000 individuals employed in Jamaica’s tourist industry.