Why Aren’t Gulf Tourists Going to Jamaica?

Tim Elliott (0:00)

This is the Morning Drive, as the Arabian travel market convenes in Dubai. Destinations from all corners of the globe are vying for the attention of the Gulf's high spending outbound traveler. And Jamaica is here, making a fresh push to attract more visitors from the GCC. Despite the UAE and Qatar and Kuwait being among Jamaica's wealthiest potential markets, the entire Gulf only sends around 1,500 visitors to Jamaica, compared with 200,000 from the UK, for example. So what is it that is holding back Gulf travelers? And could easier visas, better air links change the picture? We'll look at that amongst many other things.

Joining us is Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Edmund Bartlett, who is also bringing lessons in tourism resilience after Jamaica recently had to put its own recovery systems to the test. Minister, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Edmund Bartlett (1:00)

Thank you very much for having me. Better day today, I see.

Tim Elliott (1:05)

It is.

It's starting to cool down. We, as I said, we did it all for you. Welcome to Dubai, first of all.

Edmund Bartlett (1:12)

Well, thank you. And Dubai is one of my favorite cities outside of Jamaica for visit. I must tell you, I'm always fascinated by the architectural magnificence of this area. And I think that in another 100 years or so, when we go back to think about the Geshard of our people, we'll think very strongly about Dubai.

Because the preoccupation here is great. It's all about commerce and service and business.

Tim Elliott (1:44)

It is. It's a dynamic place to live.

Edmund Bartlett (1:46)

Absolutely.

Tim Elliott (1:47)

It really is. Let's address, I guess, the elephant in the room. And I kind of referred to it in the introduction there with you. When you look at the GCC and the wealth and the, I guess, the travel appetite across the GCC, we're in a hub situation here.

Why has a gem in the Caribbean like Jamaica historically only captured a modest slice of that kind of outbound volume?

Edmund Bartlett (2:15)

Right. I think we begin with connectivity, air connectivity, and the energy from the GCC countries have been directed at the developed countries of the West, essentially North America, the United States, Canada, and of course Europe, Western Europe, London mainly, and so on. So the Caribbean and the Southern American continent are the ones least explored, less known about, and I think are now beginning to get the attention of the GCC countries. I think in the last 10 years, there has been significant focusing around the Caribbean, some of the islands, smaller territories, and indeed, attention in building out arrangements with some of our micro islands, if you will.

So Jamaica, with our strong brand appeal, is beginning to come into attention. We have been having discussions with airlines in a big way, but also there has been a strengthening of bilateral arrangements between the countries within the GCC area and Jamaica. Certainly the UAE and ourselves have had improved relationship. Saudi Arabia, for sure, you know. We're building out with Qatar and Bahrain. So we're seeing more and more of that arrangement coming together. But perhaps the second key area to connectivity would be investment.

People travel, essentially. There's a saying that where the money goes, the people follow. So we're looking to, you know, interest the region in investing in real estate, investing in agriculture, investing in infrastructure and general energy, and now logistics. And then, of course, hospitality and tourism, health and wellness, and education. So all of these are key areas now of interest, and we're beginning to see a pickup in the interest there.

On the third area, I think, is in terms of cultural activities, gastronomy and music in particular. Reggae music is taking a hold also in the region. There are now, for example, in... Saudi Arabia has a reggae philharmonic orchestra, which is very interesting. And we're getting inquiries about reggae festivals, possibilities for the region, and so on and so forth. So we are seeing that our music, you know, and definitely our sports, athletics, like you say in Bolt, is a big name. Chris Gale plays good cricket, and we see an interesting cricket also in the GCC, in Charger, and here in Dubai, and so on. So these are the key elements that are beginning to congeal, to enable a stronger GCC Caribbean conference.

Tim Elliott (6:01)

Okay, so it's bringing those things together. What about in terms of visa facilitation, so that you can streamline access, so that you can get rid of that friction?

Edmund Bartlett (6:13)

Right, so that discussion should have been weaved into the connectivity discourse, because that's an element of facilitation, critical element of facilitation. And yes, that's happening. Certainly for the UAE, the discussion on visa engagement is happening.