ST JAMES, Jamaica — Seventeen individuals and organisations have been specially recognised by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) recently for their contributions in the furtherance of the local tourism product.

At its signature Annual Appreciation Breakfast-themed event, held at the Sangster International Airport, the JTB provided rewards in the forms of plaques, certificates and an assortment of prizes.

Guest speaker at the event, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, lauded the group for the work they have been doing in maintaining the local tourism product at a very high standard.

“This year, even with omicron in January and February, we are going to be ending the year at about 2.4 million arrivals stop over, which averages about 200,000 per month,” an ecstatic Bartlett remarked.

“We are back to normal and with 2023 ahead, we are to now zoom into the supernormal,” he added.

“All achievements have happened because you have worked so hard, because you have been so assiduous, because you have been so committed that you have carried the ball for us throughout the difficult times,” he said to the more than 100 receptive workers, spanning immigration; customs; port security corps; red cap porters; the security forces, among others.

The Minister expressed his satisfaction with employees, who, despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, have since returned to their jobs.

“And the good news for us too with you, is that you couldn’t wait for the pandemic to be over to get back to the job and that’s very comforting and satisfying to us because 45 million people worldwide did not return to the job market,” Bartlett stated.

As Jamaica is set to see strong arrivals come this winter season and beyond, the minister was quick to attribute it to the people.

“Most importantly, we sell the power of our people and it is that power of our people that is the most iconic of all the attractions that we sell to the world at large. So everybody who comes to Jamaica is coming because of the people of Jamaica,” he told the gathering.

“Of all the things you hear about Jamaica and we talk about sand, sea and sun and all that, there is nothing more powerful, an attraction that we sell, than the people of Jamaica because it is we who make everything happen,” Bartlett added.

Bartlett, emphasised that without the people, tourism would not have the value it currently enjoys.

“It is the people who constitute the greatest and most powerful elements of tourism and so every move that we make, every step that we take is all about the people and if we deny that critical value, then the essence of tourism is lost,” he stated.