By Ainsworth Morris

In celebrating Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) 70th anniversary last Thursday, Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism, could only think of one way to describe our paradise called Jamaica: One God created on the eighth day. 

While speaking about the start of the JTB officially in 1955, following the passage of the Tourist Board Law 61 of 1954, Bartlett described Jamaica, its people and the vibrant culture as a wonderful story which made the JTB into what it is today. 

“What a wonderful story it is called Jamaica, and those of us who have been privileged to be so blessed to tell the Jamaican story, must be numbered among the favoured few on planet Earth, because Jamaica had to have been made By God on the eight day of creation… and that’s why we are such a special little place on planet Earth where our weigh in size is no reflection of our weight in influence, power and presence in every spector of international affairs,” Barlett, who holds some four decades of influence in the public sector, said at the JTB’s anniversary celebration event on the East Lawns of Devon House on Thursday May 22. 

“It’s all about Jamaica,” he added before going on to describe the celebration of the JTB’s 70th anniversary as “70 years of countless efforts, strategic initiatives”, and “personal connections that make generations after generations feel the sense of dedication that Jamaica offers them over the years”. 

He said another occasion is coming when everyone who has contributed as a Minister of Tourism in the last seven decades will be highlighted for the contributions they have made to the tourism industry and the great tourist bureau. 

Bartlett said, based on research, the JTB can be credited as the most prolific and successful tourism bureau on planet Earth. 

“I don’t want you to believe that I’ve said so because I’m the minister or because I want, when I leave here, the Tourist Board to still feel good about me. I’ve said it because I’ve checked it out, and I measure this Tourist Board in terms of its ROI, and for a Tourist Board which has less than $20 million dollars annually as its budget over the years to turn around US$4.3 billion in a single year, must be the best tourism bureau on planet Earth,” he said. 

“And so, I say that without equivocation or fear of contradiction by any because the figures tell the tale,” he said. 

When the JTB was established, Jamaica was merely an emerging destination and perceived as a place for vacations by the wealthy and as a playground for the rich and the famous. In 1955, the country was welcoming just over 100,000 visitors annually. Now, after seven decades, Jamaica stands as a global tourism powerhouse. 

Jamaica has shattered tourism records with a remarkable 25% year-over-year increase in Caribbean visitor arrivals for 2024, and the two-year growth is even more compelling at 75.9%.

He also acknowledged Olivia Babsy Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport; Senator Delano Seiveright, Minister of State, Ministry of Tourism, whom he described as his “own son” in whom he is “well-pleased”; Jennifer Griffiths, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Dr Wykeham McNeil, former Minister of Tourism, who were present among the dignitaries. 

Sprint sensation and the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, was also present and was appointed as Jamaica’s Global Tourism Ambassador for the JTB and, by extension, Jamaica.