Jamaica to pump $66 million to expand health and wellness tourism product
The Ministry of Tourism will be spending
$66 million over the next three years to strengthen and expand Health and
Wellness Tourism in Jamaica.
Portfolio Minister Edmund Bartlett, in
making the announcement, said that health and wellness tourism is a growing
market internationally and Jamaica is uniquely poised to capitalise on the
industry.
According to Bartlett, research has shown
that health tourism represents one of the fastest growing travel segments, with
a 12 per cent expansion each year, and Jamaica has much to contribute to all
facets of that sector.
Minister Bartlett was speaking at the
inaugural Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference at the Montego Bay
Convention Centre on Wednesday (Nov. 20).
He noted that policies and strategies are
being developed through the Tourism Linkages Network to enhance Jamaica’s
health and wellness products.
“We will be working with teams to do
packaging, promoting and marketing of health and wellness assets as an
important tourism niche area and we want to be working in partnership with
industry stakeholders and promoting accredited, market-ready health and
wellness tourism services,” the minister explained.
He added that special focus will be placed
on research and development in the herbaceutical sector, including the
promotion of health products based on plants that are endemic to Jamaica.
“To be able to leverage all of the cultural
heritage for enormous impact in a tourism space is a huge development. Studies
have indicated that, to date, 334 plants growing in Jamaica can be identified
as medicinal,” Bartlett said, noting that 31 of the plants tested are endemic
to the island.
“Jamaica possesses the ideal location for
cultivation of a wide variety of medicinal herbs. Sixty per cent of the world’s
medical herbs are currently grown in Jamaica,” he pointed out.
The two-day conference under the theme ‘The New Futures’ brings together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences on all aspects of health and wellness.
— JIS
