Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed news that normalcy has returned to Jamaica’s two international airports following today’s industrial action by the island’s air traffic controllers.
The Jamaica Tourism Minister said: “I commend the swift action of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and all the other parties involved in resolving the matter so that normal operations could return to the Sangster and Norman Manley International Airports.”
“The tourism sector is committed to playing its part in ensuring the full recovery of Jamaica’s economy.”
“However, it will require the input and support of all our partners. Now that the matter has been resolved we are confident that the tourism sector will recover from any fallout this situation may have caused and continue to rebound moving forward,” said Minister Bartlett.
“I know it has been a frustrating day for travelers to Jamaica. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this disruption has caused and look forward to once again welcoming air passengers to the island,” he added.
Over 40 commercial flights servicing the Sangster and Norman Manley International Airports today were cancelled as the island’s air traffic controllers took industrial action, which began this morning.
The Jamaica Ministry of Tourism and its agencies are on a mission to enhance and transform Jamaica’s tourism product, while ensuring that the benefits which flow from the tourism sector are increased for all Jamaicans. To this end it has implemented policies and strategies that will provide further momentum for tourism as the engine of growth for the Jamaican economy. The Ministry remains committed to ensuring that the tourism sector makes the fullest contribution possible to Jamaica’s economic development given its tremendous earning potential.
At the Ministry, they are leading the charge to strengthen the linkages between tourism and other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and entertainment, and in so doing encourage every Jamaican to play their part in improving the country’s tourism product, sustaining investment, and modernizing and diversifying the sector to foster growth and job creation for fellow Jamaicans. The Ministry sees this as critical to Jamaica’s survival and success and has undertaken this process through an inclusive approach, which is driven by the Resort Boards, through wide-scale consultation.
Recognizing that a collaborative effort and a committed partnership between the public and private sectors will be needed to achieve set targets, central to the Ministry’s plans is maintaining and nurturing its relationship with all key stakeholders. In so doing, it is believed that with the Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development as a guide and the National Development Plan – Vision 2030 as a benchmark – the Ministry’s goals are achievable for the benefit of all Jamaicans.
