Consideration is being given to Jamaica benefiting from a US$100-million development fund the Government of Saudi Arabia has established in collaboration with the World Bank for small enterprises.

The matter was among issues broached during what has been described as a successful meeting today between Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb, where the two discussed investment opportunities and other possible areas of collaboration between both nations.

“We also discussed how Jamaica can benefit from investment in a number of areas including tourism infrastructure,” said Bartlett.

“I told him about the new destination we are developing in St Thomas and the possibility for Saudi investment in that area.”

Both ministers also examined the issue of boosting tourism resilience.

“We also spoke about the collaboration that Jamaica and Saudi Arabia will have in tourism development. These include the establishment of a Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Riyadh and collaboration with regards to sustainability and resilience projects.”

BARTLETT INVITED TO SIT ON SAUDI ARABIAN TOURISM ACADEMY

Established in 2017 and housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona, the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) has a mission to assist global tourism destinations with destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises. The GTRCMC currently has offices in the Caribbean, Africa, and the Mediterranean and affiliates in over 42 countries.

Al Khateeb extended an invitation to Bartlett to sit on the Board of Governors of the Tourism Academy that is being established in Saudi Arabia. He also asked Bartlett to participate in a mega conference of global tourism ministers in observation of the establishment of the first United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) office outside of Spain, which is being built in Riyadh.

Bartlett outlined that he extended an invitation to Al Khateeb to visit Jamaica, adding that he intends to visit the island in September.

The Jamaican tourism minister is currently in Cancun, Mexico for the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit 2021. The event is being held in partnership with the Government of Quintana Roo, under the theme ‘Uniting the World for Recovery,’ and ends today.