Discussions held on collaboration on tourism investment from the Middle East

Jamaica and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are locked in talks about introducing a unique flight between the two countries early next year.

Jamaica’s tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, who made the announcement, revealed that he has initiated discussions with top representatives of Emirates Airlines for flights between Dubai and Jamaica. The announcement comes as the Bartlett concluded marketing activities in the UAE earlier this week with a crucial meeting with senior executives of Emirates Airlines at their Dubai headquarters.  

A major element of the wide-ranging discussion was the possibility of introducing a special service between Dubai and Jamaica, in celebration of Jamaica Day at Expo 2020, Dubai in February 2022.

“We agreed to explore the feasibility of arranging this flight, details of which are to be worked out as soon as possible,” Bartlett said.

“There was also a productive discussion around tourism and airline recovery prospects and the positive V-shape pattern being experienced by Jamaica and Dubai.”

He said further discussions would be held in the context of multi-destination strategies being formulated in the northern Caribbean to enable a more fulsome engagement of the UAE and other partners in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines is the largest airline in the UAE and the Middle East overall, operating over 3,600 flights per week. 

Bartlett meets with UAE tourism and other business interests

While in the UAE, Bartlett and his team also met with the country’s Tourism Authority to discuss collaboration on tourism investment from the Middle East as well as tourism initiatives and gateway access for North Africa and Asia and facilitation of airlift.

There were also meetings with executives of EMAAR, arguably the largest and most prestigious hospitality and real estate/community developer in the Middle East; DP World, one of the world’s largest port and marine logistics companies; DNATA, the single largest tour operator in the UAE and TRACT, a powerful tour operator in India. 

He also met with members of the Jamaican Diaspora in the UAE; and three major airlines in the Middle East – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar. 

Said Bartlett: “The round of marketing activities my team and I had with the key tourism and logistics partners in the UAE, were very fruitful. This will undoubtedly result in the process of securing new investments, markets and gateways from the Middle East, Asia/Asia Minor and Africa to Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.”

Bartlett in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for more marketing discussions

Bartlett is now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he will speak at the fifth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII). This year’s FII will include in-depth conversations about new global investment opportunities, analysis of industry trends, and unparalleled networking among CEOs, world leaders, and experts. 

He is  joined by Senator Aubyn Hill in his capacity as minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Water, Land, Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs), the Special Economic Zone Authority of Jamaica and special projects. 

Bartlett and his team will return to the island on November 6.