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JAMAICA: Delegation from Trinidad on Four-Day Trade Mission to Jamaica

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#Kingston, November 22, 2022 – A delegation comprising 17 companies from the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago is now in Jamaica on a trade mission.

The four-day visit by the companies, which span construction, food and beverage, logistics, packaging and printing, chemicals as well as other sectors, is part of an effort to expand and promote bilateral export trade between the countries.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, who welcomed the trade mission at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday (November  21), noted that Jamaica is an excellent place to do business.

He said that business confidence is at an all-time high, up 18.3 points in the recent business confidence report, which is the single highest point level in 20 years.

The Minister cited Jamaica’s economic growth rate, as well as a trainable workforce, as major pull factors for investment.

He noted that the economy grew by 8.2 per cent in the last fiscal year, and for the second fiscal quarter, which ends in September, the country recorded a growth rate of 4.8 per cent.

“We are training to make sure that when you come to invest, you have good people to work for you. We have… 1.5 million people in the Kingston, Portmore, St. Catherine area that speak English, very young and can be trained, will be trained and are being trained,” he added.

“So, we have the workforce that you can work with; we have an economy that is growing; we have the fact that people are being employed. Before the pandemic, at the end of 2019, we had 43,000 people employed in the BPO sector. We now have upwards of 55,000 and growing quite fast,” he noted further.

Minister Hill said that  Jamaica’s central bank and stock exchange are also well respected.

“This is a place that we are very happy that Trinidadians are coming,” he said,  adding that a mission from Jamaica will be heading to the twin-island and Dominican Republic soon.

Minister in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago, Paula Gopee-Scoon, called for a deepening of relationships among Caribbean countries.

“We must continue to make these relations seamless and to tighten the connectivity between us in all ways, business included…We must trade with each other; we must be complementary in the trade that we do to ensure that trade benefits both sides,” she said.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA), Tricia Coosal, said that “our purpose here is to solidify relationships”.

“TTMA always views Jamaica as [one of] our most valued trading partners in the region; however, we will all agree that this relationship is much more than trade. Today, it has expanded its tentacles to include investment, tourism and even cross-cultural mixing,” she said.

She noted that Jamaica offers multi-investment and business opportunities, as a result of geographical location, the legal framework, economic stability and infrastructure.

“The country is identified as one of the fastest growing economies in the Caribbean. An examination of the overall trade statistics between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago shows trade between the two countries steadily improving over the years.

“Various goods are exported to Jamaica from different sectors in Trinidad and Tobago, such as food and beverage, construction, printing, and packaging. The statistics also show positive growth in the trade of goods and services from Jamaica, and investment flows, as well, into T&T over the last couple of years,” she noted.

Ms. Coosal said she hopes that the discussions, over the next four days, will be fruitful and will morph into partnerships and joint ventures.

 

Contact: Chris Patterson

Release: JIS

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U.S. Virgin Islands Sets New Tourism Record in 2024, Welcoming Unprecedented Visitor Numbers

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St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands — The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism proudly announces new record-breaking passenger arrival numbers, which highlight the continued growth of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John as a leading tourism destination.

Closing out the year on a high, December 28 recorded 4,606 passenger arrivals, surpassing the single-day arrival record set earlier in March 2024. This achievement also led to a new weekly passenger arrival record, with over 24,000 arrivals, marking a 5.92% increase over the previous record.

“As a destination, we continue to explore, elevate, and improve, which further supports the ongoing goal to build upon our commitment to be a premier Caribbean destination,” shares Commissioner Joseph Boschulte of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

In 2024, combined airline arrivals at Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix totaled 932,265 passengers. This figure surpassed the previous record set during the COVID-19 pandemic by over 100,000 passengers and represented a 16.5% increase compared to 2023.

The newly released numbers culminate a year of exponential tourism growth for the U.S. Virgin Islands, including a record-breaking month of arrivals in March with 106,026, and the introduction or return of airline routes from American Airlines, Cape Air, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country, and United Airlines.

The Territory also experienced a significant boost in cruise passengers, welcoming 1,770,922, resulting in a 9.8% increase compared to 2023. This growth was driven by the maiden voyages of several ships, including Scarlet Lady, Icon of the Seas, Disney Treasure, Explora I, Sun Princess, Explora II, Emerald Azzurra, Celebrity Apex, and Rhapsody of the Seas. The increase in cruise arrivals highlights the ongoing efforts of the Department of Tourism and local partners to strengthen and foster relationships across the industry.

In addition to welcoming more visitors, the territory also received several prestigious industry honors, including:

“As we look to 2025, we will continue to push the creativity of our marketing strategies, which includes advertising, social media, public relations, and partnerships to connect with and keep the U.S. Virgin Islands top of mind for new and returning travelers,” adds Commissioner Boschulte.

Commissioner Boschulte and the Department of Tourism team continue to set their sights on an ambitious future, positioning the U.S. Virgin Islands as the premier destination for travelers seeking natural beauty, cultural richness, and warm hospitality.

For more information about the U.S. Virgin Islands, please visit https://www.visitusvi.com/.

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CARPHA and TEPHINET Sign MoU to Increase Technical Skills of Public Health Professionals in the Caribbean  

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Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) renewing their commitment to increase the skills of public health professionals in applied epidemiological interventions, including outbreak detection, emergency response and surveillance analyses.   

Field epidemiology is often described as “applied” or “intervention” epidemiology. It seeks to rapidly address priority public health issues in the community by using the appropriate resources and epidemiologic methods to investigate a problem and make recommendations for public health action, for immediate and longerterm control and prevention.

Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director, CARPHA reiterated the importance of Field Epidemiology Training Programmes (FETPs) to the Region, ”CARPHA’s novel FETP has the laboratory component added to it and is regarded as a ‘boots on the ground’ programme. It has built much needed human resources capacity for health (HRH) in the small island developing states of the Caribbean.  Participants’ work contributes to the strengthening of the national public health system as a whole, by providing evidence-based information for public health action”.

Dr Carl Reddy, Programme Director, TEPHINET expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the regional programme, “TEPHINET is proud to have the Caribbean Regional FELTP as a member of its global network, given the sterling job that it has done in building field epidemiology capacity in an underserved region susceptible to climate change and prone to public health emergencies such as natural disasters”.

Dr Laura Lee Boodram, Head, Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Lab Training Programmes (CRFELTP), CARPHA said, “The tiered training programme is based on a model of building practical competencies, which enables trainees to apply classroom-based learning to solve real world situations”. CR-FELTP training content and learning projects address priority public health issues in the Caribbean, such as communicable and non-communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS; emerging health threats including Chikungunya and Ebola viruses; and laboratory surveillance.

Key objectives of the MOU are:

  • Developing public health human resource capacity through Field Epidemiology Training (FETP)
  • Implementing, following up and supporting epidemiological surveillance activities in communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, injuries and emergency preparedness and response
  • Promoting networking opportunities to support further programme development and sustainability
  • Collaborating holistically by coordinating efficiently on activities, identifying synergies, optimising resources and opportunities, and mitigating contradictory or duplicative efforts.

In January 2017 a technical partnership was formed between Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)/TEPHINET and CARPHA in order to implement Frontline training as a pilot initiative, against the framework of the CR-FELTP.  To date, 18 CARPHA Member States have benefitted from the Programme.

 

Background:

CARPHA is the sole regional public health agency for the Caribbean, legally established in 2011 by an Intergovernmental Agreement signed by the Caribbean Community member states. CARPHA is responsible for providing strategic direction and analysing, defining and responding to the public health priorities of the Caribbean in order to prevent diseases, promote and protect health and to respond to public health emergencies.

TEPHINET, formed in 1997, is a professional network of 83-member field epidemiology training programs (FETPs) working in more than 100 countries. With a mission to empower and mobilise a competent field epidemiology workforce to serve all people through standardised training, experiential learning, training program quality improvement, mentoring, and knowledge exchanges in order to connect epidemiologists better, faster, and with quality across the globe.

 

Photo Captions

Header: Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA Ad Interim Executive Director signs the MOU between CARPHA and TEPHINET to strengthen public health and disease surveillance systems management in the Caribbean, while Dr Mark Sami, CARPHA Director Corporate Services looks on

Insert: Dr Carl Reddy, TEPHINET Programme Director, at his office in Atlanta, GA, after signing the MoU between TEPHINET and CARPHA

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Turks and Caicos Featured as Top Beach Destination on the Today Show

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Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands — Visit Turks and Caicos Islands (VisitTCI.com) played a pivotal role in showcasing the natural beauty of the Turks and Caicos Islands during a feature on NBC’s TODAY show on Monday morning (January 6th). The segment, which aired to millions of viewers across the United States, highlighted iconic destinations like Grace Bay Beach, Water Cay, and West Harbour Bluff, using exclusive content from VisitTCI.com.

During the segment, host Al Roker praised the islands as “one of [his] favorite spots beach-wise” and reaffirmed their inclusion in Travel + Leisure’s 50 Best Places to Travel in 2025.

This feature continues Visit Turks and Caicos Islands’ ongoing commitment to promoting the country globally. The website has recently undergone significant enhancements to deliver an even richer experience for travelers, including redesigned homepages, new interactive features such as video overviews of featured hotels and resorts, and an 8% expansion in original content. VisitTCI is the largest source of authoritative Turks and Caicos content, with more than 1,100 in-depth articles and 6,000 high-quality original photos.

“VisitTCI.com has always been about providing the most accurate and engaging travel information for the Turks and Caicos Islands,” said Daniel J. LeVin, Executive Editor of VisitTCI.com. “Our partnership with NBC TODAY and the recognition from Travel + Leisure reflects the hard work we’ve invested in elevating TCI to one of the world’s top vacation destinations.”

The platform’s dedication to excellence has also earned partnerships with top international publications, including National Geographic and Condé Nast Traveler. Visit Turks and Caicos Islands is TCI’s largest and most-visited website.

You can watch a recording of the segment at NBC.com: https://www.today.com/video/top-travel-destinations-hidden-gems-to-visit-in-2025-228564037644

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