Durrant Pate/Contributor

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett is underscoring the critical role of health systems in safeguarding Jamaica’s tourism industry.

He emphasised the point the University of the West Indies, Mona Faculty of Medical Sciences’ Research Support Fund launch, where he was the featured speaker, as the Tourism Enhancement, which falls under his portfolio, made a $10 million contribution to the fund. The minister positioned the initiative as a strategic investment in “tourism health resilience.”

Framing the moment as transformative, Minister Bartlett argued that the launch on Tuesday represents “not just a fund, but a new chapter”, one where science and tourism converge to protect both lives and livelihoods, and to build a stronger, more trusted Jamaica.

The Research Support Fund, he noted, has the potential to drive solutions in areas such as tourism worker health, food and water safety, climate-health risks, and emergency response systems, while positioning Jamaica as a global leader in resilience thinking through institutions like the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

Building tourism value chain

The Tourism Minister emphasised that Jamaica’s future competitiveness will hinge on integrating medicine, research and innovation into the tourism value chain, noting that health is no longer peripheral but “part of the tourism product itself.” He also advanced the Government’s “Local First” agenda, calling for greater investment in Jamaican-led research, health security systems, and innovation to ensure that the benefits of tourism are more deeply rooted in local institutions and expertise.

He contended that this latest move will improve the country’s capacity to protect lives, sustain confidence, and secure economic stability in times of disruption. “Tourism depends on confidence, and confidence depends on trust, which in turn depends on preparedness,” Bartlett added, highlighting that modern destinations are judged not only by beauty but by their ability to respond to health risks, crises and uncertainty.