TRELAWNY, Jamaica—Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, on Friday, unveiled Falmouth’s Jam-Iconic Experience sign on Foreshore Road, near the entrance to the historic Trelawny capital.

The Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) and the Trelawny Municipal Corporation partnered to establish the sign.

At the heart of the design, sculpted by Scheed Cole, are nine meticulously crafted rum barrels, symbolising the town’s prominence in sugar and rum production during the 18th and 19th centuries. Two storyboards are also installed at the site of the sign.

The Falmouth sign is the third Jam-Iconic Experience, following one constructed at the Montego Bay airport roundabout and the other in Negril.

Minister Bartlett emphasised that the unveiling of the Falmouth Jam-Iconic Experience sign honours the town’s rich heritage while embracing a future of inclusive, sustainable, and community-beneficial tourism. He highlighted the project’s role in preserving Falmouth’s legacy while ensuring that the tourism industry grows in a way that benefits all stakeholders.

“Falmouth has always had a special place in Jamaica’s story. Once one of the wealthiest towns on the island, thanks to its nearly one hundred plantations that actively manufactured sugar and rum for export to England when sugar was king. It is no surprise that Falmouth continues to be a town of great cultural and historical significance,” the tourism minister said.

“When we talk about tourism, we’re talking about more than just visitors. We’re talking about a shared experience where locals and tourists can come together, interact, and celebrate the very essence of Jamaica,” he added.

Meanwhile, Wade Mars, executive director of Tourism Development Product (TPDCo), explained that the Jam-Iconic Experience signs provide photo opportunities for locals and tourists alike.

“It draws attention to a destination. In this day and age of social media, people want to make their own postcards. So, by them being able to have these sites in some instances capture the history of a town just visually, without actually telling the story, so to speak. This one has two storyboards that articulate historical aspects of the town. It really captures in real life what the town is about,” Mars explained.

Trelawny Members of Parliament Tova Hamilton and Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert, Custos of Trelawny, Hugh Gentles, mayor of Falmouth, C Junior Gager, and other members of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation were among those in attendance at the official unveiling ceremony.