Bolt, who holds world records in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, has expressed his enthusiasm for the new role, reaffirming his natural passion and love for his country. He will spearhead international marketing campaigns highlighting Jamaica’s beaches, culture, and hospitality industry, leveraging his global recognition to attract visitors from key markets worldwide.

Director of Tourism, Donovan White, noted that “Usain’s global appeal is unprecedented for any Jamaican figure. His endorsement of Jamaica as a destination carries weight that traditional marketing simply cannot match. We expect this partnership to significantly boost our tourism numbers and international profile.”

The sprint legend will serve as a cultural ambassador, promoting Jamaican music, food, and traditions at international events and through digital platforms and global media and event engagements.

The move is expected to enhance Jamaica’s global presence while providing concrete benefits for tourism.

Speaking with Our Today from Treasure Beach’s  Calabash, the Caribbean’s leading literary festival, Director of Tourism Donovan White added: “ Usain Bolt’s brand and recognition globally is unprecedented.  Jamaica Tourist Board’s recognition of this and our ability to now name him as our Global Ambassador and have him commit to working with us globally to ensure that our advertising, our marketing, the integrated approach that we have taken to deliver Jamaica and to message Jamaica across the world will now include Usain and for that we are extremely proud that we were able to find this nexus between bringing these two big brands together – Usain and Jamaica.

“When you think about it, it is really one brand – Usain is Jamaica and Jamaica is Usain. We are extremely happy to be able to make this happen at this time, when we are on a growth trajectory in tourism and looking to get to our 5 million number by 2026 in terms of arrivals and US$5 billion in earnings for the destination. We believe these goals are aligned, and we can bring a kind of difference to how we position our next global marketing campaign, which is scheduled for  release in August 2025.”