Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is insisting that the tour that he led to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recently, will redound to one of the most positive results for Jamaica’s tourism product in recent time.

Bartlett and a team from the Jamaica Tourist Board visited Dubai for the Arabian Travel Market and held high-level talks with giants in the travel industry located in the Arabian region.

Travel between Jamaica and the Middle East, which was high on the agenda of most of the discussions, has also resulted in the announcement that Emirates, the largest airline in the Gulf Coast countries, is now facilitating, through multiple gateways in the United States and one in Italy, direct booking of flights in the vast Emirates network and both Montego Bay’s Sangster and Kingston’s Norman Manley international airports.

Bartlett and Director of Tourism Donovan White cemented the arrangements after talks with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Emirates Group, as well as a number of meetings with the Emirates operations teams.

“This is a really impressive start to opening and establishing gateways to Asia and North Africa through the Middle East. I think Jamaica is going to benefit greatly from the flow of visitors that come through this area into Jamaica and the Caribbean in general,” Bartlett stated. “All in all, this was a great engagement that allowed for business to be transacted between Jamaican stakeholders, who were present, and operators and travel agents from the area.”

Jamaica’s participation in the Arabian Travel Market enables the country to maintain a competitive edge in the United Arab Emirates and surrounding countries and also bolster active participation in relevant regional and international events in order to maintain Jamaica’s “top-of-mind” status as a global tourism leader.

More than 23,000 visitors attended the 29th edition of Arabian Travel Market 2022 as industry leaders gathered at Dubai World Trade Centre to share insights into the future of international travel and tourism.

“In addition, doubling our visitor numbers year on year, Arabian Travel Market 2022 hosted 1,500 exhibitors and attendees from 150 countries,” commented Danielle Curtis, exhibition director for the event. “These figures are especially impressive given lockdowns still taking place in China and other destinations. What’s more, the development of the travel and tourism sector throughout the Middle East region shows no signs of abating, with Gulf Coast countries’ hotel construction contract awards set to rise by 16 per cent this year alone.”