Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said Monday that if the ministry fails to get enough local investment in this year’s Blue Mountain Jamaica Coffee Festival, it will no longer aim for investments in the event.

Bartlett said that the festival is a product that can be marketed by itself, and that there was a need to make sure that it is developed as a self-marketed product.

“What we need is to make sure that we develop the entrepreneurial capacity to carry it (through).And we will be bringing thousands and thousands of people to Jamaica annually for this coffee festival. And that’s what I want to see,” he told the launch of the event at Devon House in St Andrew.

“So, I am inviting investments and, in fact, if we can’t get local investment we no longer aim to go look for investments, because this festival must not be a simple event at Newcastle every year. It must be a national event, an international event that will brings thousands and thousands of people to Jamaica, and provide income and revenue for the country and the well-being of our people,” the minister said.

The Tourism Enhsncement Fund (TEF)has supported the festival to the tune of $100 miĺlion over the past six years, including this year’s grant of $25 million. It means an average of just over $15 million per year.

Bartlett added that the ministry believes that two years is enough time to wean it and pass it over to the private sector, which is the engine of growth

“Government is about facilitation of that growth process. Let’s make this a signature event that invites the world to Jamaica every year,” he stated.

The Tourism Linkages Network is host of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival which is held in March in Newcastle, St Andrew. A three-day event, it showcases the rich tradition of coffee production in the Blue Mountain region and feature Blue Mountain coffee, coffee-related products, food stalls, tastings, demonstrations and workshops.

The festival is normally the culmination of month-long activities in March, which allow visitors to enjoy the spring climate of Jamaica’s mountainous terrains in St. Andrew as well as the best tasting Blue Mountain coffee beans.