African Tourism Board Open Letter to Jamaica gets a Response

by: Juergen T Steinmetz | copyright: eTurboNews | Travel News – Travel & Tourism Industry News

Cuthbert Ncube, the Chairman of the African Tourism Board, feels this bond with the Caribbean as well.

Caribbean and African ties run deep. They are based on a shared history, culture, and sense of a common identity forged by the slave trade. African Diaspora in the Caribbean is everywhere.

The Hon. Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism for Jamaica had acted on this bond, which also comes with great opportunities in the travel and tourism sector.

Bartlett was the first non-African minister of Tourism to join ATB as a board member after he met with the founding father of ATB on the sideline of the World Travel Market 2018 in London.

ATB is currently headquartered in the Kingdom of Eswatini, thanks to the Eswatini Minister of Tourism Moses Vilakati.

Therefore there is a special reason for Bartlett to invite Cuthbert Ncube, to Jamaica to attend the historic African Caribbean Tourism summit on February 16 in Kingston. It will be Ncube’s first trip to Jamaica.

In 2021 the Hon Minister Edmund Bartlett from Jamaica was instrumental in providing opportunities for Africa when he met with His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia at the African Tourism Recovery Summit for African Ministers of Tourism held in Nairobi in July 2021.

At that time during COVID-19 lockdowns, the tourism world was looking to Saudi Arabia for rescue, and the Kingdom responded in a big way.

Today the host of the African summit, former Secretary of Tourism for Kenya Najib Balala resigned from his post in September 2022 and is about to start working in Saudi Arabia.

Currently attending FITUR in Madrid, Minister Bartlett had a message for the African Tourism Board.

Minister of Tourism Najib Balala with his Jamaican counterpart Edmund Bartlett (R) during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for Sh 10 million for the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at the Tourism Recovery Summit at the Villa Rosa Kempinski on July 16, 2021.

The Hon. Minister Bartlett said:

The GTRCMC and the Ministry of Tourism along with our Caribbean partners are very happy about the upcoming collaboration of the African Tourism Board in the historic African Caribbean tourism summit on February 16, 2023, in Kingston Jamaica.

As founder and co-chair of the Centre and Minister of tourism, it will be my honor to welcome our African brothers and sisters to the Caribbean and Jamaica!

ATB Chairman Cuthbert Ncube and former Sec Tourism Kenya Najib Balala

Bartlett’s words were in response to this official statement issued by the African Tourism Board.

The ATB Statement reads:

We are delighted to express African Tourism Board’s appreciation as we accept and acknowledge the prestigious recognition in our drive and strive in promoting Tourism recovery and sustainability.

It was indeed a great pleasure to meet with Hon Minister Edmund Bartlett and discuss the Afri- Caribbean Summit Festival during the CHOGMA Summit in Kigali.

As discussed in length, ATB after deliberating and understanding the vision and commitment, and dedication of Minister Bartlett and the government of Jamaica toward Tourism in the Caribbean and beyond Jamaica and Africa in particular.

The ATB is pleased to officially endorse the upcoming Afri-Caribbean Tourism Summit to be held in Jamaica in February 2023.

We are fully aware of what collaboration between the Caribbean and Africa can do in developing Economic spinoffs, especially in the Tourism context, which is why we would want to develop a sustainable relationship in our respective endeavors in developing strategies that will strengthen the Tourism Industry in our Continent and the Caribbean Community.

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