KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s longstanding connection to James Bond was celebrated at the historic Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal on Thursday as British author Simon Firth officially presented his latest publication, Jamaica: On the Tracks of James Bond.

The 332-page book takes readers on a journey across Jamaica, documenting the locations, people and stories connected to Ian Fleming and the James Bond film franchise, from Fleming’s beloved GoldenEye in Oracabessa to Port Antonio, Kingston, Port Royal, Alligator Pond, Lucea, Negril, Montego Bay, Falmouth and Ocho Rios.

Simon Firth, author

The Port Royal launch formed part of a wider 10-day Bond tour, which brought more than 40 James Bond enthusiasts from around the world to Jamaica, including visitors from the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe.

Many of the visitors are members of James Bond fan clubs and travelled to the island specifically to experience the locations associated with the legendary spy franchise. The group’s itinerary included several of the sites documented in Firth’s book, allowing fans to experience the locations beyond the pages of the publication.

The choice of venue was particularly fitting.

The Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal has its own place in Bond history, having featured as a filming location in Dr. No, the 1962 film that introduced Sean Connery as 007. Scenes involving Bond, Quarrel and Felix Leiter were filmed at the property, while Connery stayed in Room 118 during filming. The hotel has since preserved the connection through its James Bond Café and, more recently, a suite dedicated to Connery.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who attended the launch, said Jamaica’s relationship with Fleming and Bond continues to provide the island with a powerful platform for attracting visitors.

“Ian Fleming in 1943 had his inspiration right here in Jamaica. He created for us a series that put Jamaica constantly on the minds of literary giants all over the world. Every time Ian Fleming’s name is mentioned, Jamaica is connected there,” Bartlett said.

He commended Firth for helping to turn that connection into an experience capable of attracting visitors to Jamaica.

“You have driven a very important part of what drives visitor movement across the globe. People travel to fulfil their passion and our job is to identify these passion points and to create products around them,” the minister said.

For Firth, the book represents the culmination of a longstanding fascination with both Bond and Jamaica.

“Jamaica and James Bond are synonymous. It was a book that was waiting to happen but I needed to make sure I had the skillset to do it,” he said jokingly.

Firth said the research process also allowed him to discover aspects of Jamaica’s history that extended well beyond the Bond franchise.

“There is a lot of the history of Jamaica that I learnt while writing this book, such as about Port Royal where we are now, a part of the town sunk into the sea,” he said.

Firth previously explained that his research involved compiling an extensive list of locations connected to the Bond films, books and people associated with the franchise before mapping them geographically. Rather than organising the book according to individual films, Firth chose a route that allows travellers to move logically from one location to another around the island.

That approach, he said, was designed to make the book useful not only to Bond devotees but also to travellers interested in discovering Jamaica.

“It’s not just about James Bond, but it’s also an alternative tour guide to Jamaica,” Firth said in an earlier interview.

The publication is Firth’s fifth book in the On the Tracks of 007 series and features a foreword by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange and an afterword by actress Gloria Hendry, who portrayed Rosie Carver in Live and Let Die.