KINGSTON, Jamaica; January 28, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is encouraging members of the Diaspora to invest in the local tourism sector, which continues to drive Jamaica's economic recovery.
Speaking yesterday during the 'Let's Connect with Ambassador Marks' online series, Bartlett noted that: "We have a Diaspora with enormous wealth, experience, capabilities, talent, skill, and connectivity with communities. We need to be investing in capital formation and new enterprises in Jamaica so that Jamaica can build its capacity to respond to the demand that tourism brings."
He disclosed that one key sector that needs investment is agriculture. He also shared that Jamaica has not been able to produce the required agricultural supplies in the numbers, volume, consistency and at the price point required to supply the hotels.
"The next element that we are moving in on very strongly is to build out the capacity of Jamaica in this current and post COVID-19 period to deliver more on the demand of tourism. We argue that tourism is an extractive industry because we have not been able to supply the agricultural demands of the industry," said Bartlett.
