Jamaica Tourism heating up for summer with new flights

Taking advantage of being at the ITB global tourism tradeshow in Berlin, Germany, and also the Hotel Investment Forum, the Honorable Edmund Barlett, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, announced new flights between his country and three European countries. The flights are scheduled to begin this summer and include Germany, Spain, and Portugal.

Germany

One of Europe’s leading airlines, Eurowings, a subsidiary of one of the world’s biggest airline companies, Lufthansa, will begin operating a twice-weekly scheduled service between Germany’s largest populated metropolitan region and Montego Bay, Jamaica, beginning July 3 this year.

The announcement was made at a meeting led by Minister Bartlett with the Chief Commercial Officer of Eurowings, Oliver Wagner, and other company executives while attending the ITB global tourism tradeshow in Berlin, Germany. Minister Bartlett was joined by Jamaica’s Ambassador to Germany Her Excellency Margaret Jobson; Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook; Senior Advisor and Senior Communications Strategist, Delano Seiveright; and Deputy Director of Tourism – Marketing, Jamaica Tourist Board, Marcia McLaughlin.

“The scheduled flights will operate every Monday and Friday from Cologne/Bonn, and will use their Airbus 330 aircraft which has 310 seats. Flights will run July 3 through to October 27, 2017, and will bring over 10,000 seats from Germany for the summer. Already Eurowings has advised us that they will extend the service into the winter with those seats opening up for sale within days,” Minister Bartlett pointed out.

The new scheduled service will complement weekly charter services operated by German air carrier Condor from the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich into Montego Bay.

Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook noted that the flights, “Will all be scheduled as opposed to a charter, meaning in addition to being sold by any tour operator they can be also booked by the public anywhere in the world on any booking site, for example Expedia and Kayak. It is really a big deal for us as we work to regain a stronger foothold in the German and wider European market.”

Jamaica’s tourism officials are also excited that the flights will be operating out of Cologne/Bonn International Airport, which forms part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region – the largest in all of Germany with a population of over 11 million. Today, the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region accounts for roughly 15% of the GDP of the German economy, which would place it economically as the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the European Union and the 16th largest GDP in the world.

Mr. Seiveright noted that, “Germany is being strategically targeted by Minister Bartlett as he ramps up efforts to boost Jamaica’s tourism sector and contribute more significantly to the country’s growth and development.”

The Tourism Minister and his team are currently in Berlin, Germany, participating in the largest tourism tradeshow in the world, ITB Berlin, and the International Hotel Investment Forum, which focuses on delivering opportunities to persons who currently operate within the tourism industry or who want to do business in the sector, including tourism and government officials. He also participated in a special press briefing to boost publicity worldwide for the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) historic Global Conference on Building Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism for Development, which has now seen the World Bank Group come on board, and which is being hosted by Jamaica, November 27 to 29, 2017, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James.

Spain and Portugal

Weekly charter flights between Spain, Portugal, and Jamaica beginning June this year, represent just some of the good news pouring in as Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett continues his visit to Germany to participate in the largest tourism tradeshow in the world, ITB Berlin, the International Hotel Investment Forum, among other engagements with investors and tourism interests.

Spain and Portugal will have charters operated and sold by the Barcelo Group under their tour operator brands, Bartlett noted.

“The Portugal flights will be operated by Orbest from June 9 to September 29 and goes out of their capital city Lisbon, with an Airbus 330 aircraft that seats 388 passengers. The flight will make a stop in the Dominican Republic before continuing on to Montego Bay and vice versa. Meanwhile, the Spain flights will be operated by Evelop non-stop out of their capital city, Madrid into Montego Bay from June 4 to October 28 with an Airbus 330 aircraft that seats 388 passengers,” Bartlett stated.

Bartlett indicated that the flights out of Portugal and Spain are critical to the continued diversification of Jamaica’s tourism sector and is in line with deliberate and concerted efforts to gain a stronger foothold into the European markets.

Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook noted that both new charters from Portugal and Spain will be operated by planes owned by the Barcelo Group one of the leading and vertically integrated tour companies headquarted in Spain. “They have already started promoting the Jamaica program covering familiar properties in this first phase such as all AM Resort properties, Riu and Iberostar. A minimal number of seats will sold by Sol Tour on both flights which will probably amount to 50 seats on the Portuguese flight and 88 on the Spanish flight,” said Pennicook.

Both Bartlett and Pennicook were joined in Germany by Senior Advisor and Senior Communications Strategist Delano Seiveright and Deputy Director of Tourism – Marketing, Marcia McLaughlin.

Bartlett is currently in Berlin, Germany participating in the largest tourism tradeshow in the world, ITB Berlin and the International Hotel Investment Forum, which focuses on delivering opportunities to persons who currently operate within the tourism industry or who want to do business in the sector, including tourism and government officials. He is also participated in a special press briefing to boost publicity worldwide for the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) historic Global Conference on Building Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism for Development, which has now seen the World Bank Group come on board as partners. The event, which is being hosted by Jamaica, will run from November 27 to 29, 2017, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.