Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Named “Man of the Year”

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett was named Man of the Year by Ken Chaplain, a columnist with the Jamaica Observer, one of the island’s leading newspapers. In his weekly column published on Dec. 29, Chaplain noted that the Tourism Minister was his choice because of his tenacity and leadership of Jamaica’s tourist industry in a challenging year for the global industry.

The columnist added that “Minister Bartlett was named Man of the Year because of the critical part tourism plays in the economy and the stamp it makes on the lives of so many people. He has also made a mark internationally with Jamaica’s election to the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the leading organization in the field of tourism.”

In his column Chaplain indicated that Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), also had high praises for Bartlett, describing him as the hardest-working tourism minister Jamaica has ever seen, with a passion for success of the industry and the country.

Cummings said, “Bartlett’s contribution to the development of tourism has been remarkable, especially from the perspective of marketing at a time when the country is experiencing great difficulty in the period of the world economic crisis.”