UNSHAKEN by the novel coronavirus pandemic, No Time to Die — the latest in the James Bond franchise — is creating quite a stir in tourism circles.

According to travel experts at Amadeus, a Europe-based technology company, the 25th instalment in the Bond franchise, has driven interest in destination Jamaica, particularly in the United Kingdom. The announcement was made at the World Travel Market in London.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who is currently at the London confab, is pleased with the announcement.

“This is indeed a welcome filip for our marketing efforts. It is indeed a fact that Jamaica has invested with the Bond movement, enabling this very important, epic and significant series that was filmed in Jamaica. We worked with the Ministry of Culture to ensure that the filming and execution took place very well. Jamaica is benefiting from this,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“The premiere took place in great style in London and in New York. We were not able to do as well, because of COVID in Jamaica but we are looking forward to utilising more — the images, and the impact of this epic movie — in helping to promote Jamaica internationally… The images portrayed of Jamaica are strong and outstanding and will assist us greatly in our marketing efforts,” Bartlett continued.

He congratulated British film company EON Productions as well the cast and crew of No Time to Die.

According to the tourism ministry, Jamaica will, this month, start receiving at least 16 flights per week from the United Kingdom, bringing the island back to approximately 100 per cent airline seat capacity as tourism numbers rebound after being crippled by COVID-19 restrictions.

TUI, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering non-stop flights between London, Manchester and Birmingham to Jamaica.

No Time to Die opened in Jamaica eight days after its London premiere on September 30. Its production launch took place at GoldenEye, St Mary, in April 2019.

With a cost of US$250 million to produce, the film is co-produced by MGM and EON. Initially given a release date of April 2020, No Time to Die’s premiere was postponed due to COVID-19.

Last weekend, it made US$606 million globally.

Directed by American Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time to Die stars Daniel Craig in his final role as Agent 007. Several scenes were shot on location in Portland and Kingston.

Two of the English actresses in No Time to Die have Jamaican heritage: Naomie Harris’s mother is Jamaican while Lashana Lynch’s parents were born in the country.

This is Harris’s third appearance in a Bond movie.

Other members of the cast are Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, and Billy Magnussen.

James Bond and Jamaica are inextricably linked. British author Ian Fleming, creator of the super spy, resided at GoldenEye for many years, where he wrote all his James Bond novels. GoldenEye, the 17th film in the series was released in 1995 and starred Pierce Brosnan as Bond.

The first Bond film Dr No (1962), and Live And Let Die (1973) were both shot mainly in Kingston. Jamaican actors, including Reggie Carter, Marguerite Lewars, and Grace Jones have appeared in Bond flicks.