Caribbean News
A CHAMPION FOR JAMAICA: TRAVEL ADVISORS IMMERSE IN “JAMAICA LOVE” DURING SANDALS® RESORTS’ LARGEST CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ADVISOR EVENT EVER
~ Weeklong “Sandals Jamaica Love Tour 2024” Celebrates Destination, Highlighting Connections Between Public and Private Sectors and Major Tourism Infrastructure Investment ~
Dr. The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, gave the keynote speech at the Jamaica Love Showcase, where he shared plans for more seamless connectivity around the island via new bypasses and international airports.
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA – Family-owned and operated Sandals Resorts, the Caribbean’s most awarded luxury all-inclusive resort company, made an impressive case for its home country of Jamaica recently, welcoming nearly 1,000 attendees to its Jamaica Love Showcase, where Dr. The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica applauded the resort brand on its far-reaching impact, “Sandals represents the best example of Jamaica fulfilling its potential.” The prime minister in his keynote address also announced that new airports, roadways and other infrastructure will better connect the island for visitors.
The Jamaica Love Showcase is part of a week-long event from October 13-20 aptly named the “Sandals Jamaica Love Tour 2024,” and is immersing travel advisors and partners into the celebrated island’s beauty, safety and limitless opportunity, with a diverse itinerary that includes comprehensive Sandals Resorts and Beaches® Resorts tours, Island Routes excursions, Sandals Foundation activities, and exclusive networking events.
The Jamaica Love Showcase
Sandals Resorts International Executive Chairman, Adam Stewart, on stage at the Jamaica Love Showcase, where he thanked travel advisors and reaffirmed the brands’ commitment to their craft and to the Caribbean – a region with a bigger future anywhere on the planet.
Designed to demonstrate the crucial connections between public and private sectors that create the foundation for successful tourism, the unprecedented Jamaica Love Showcase welcomed hospitality executives, international media and more than 700 travel advisors to the Montego Bay Convention Center on October 16th. A vendor market of local artisans, music by the Silver Birds steel drum orchestra, and culinary displays reflecting signature dining experiences from across the resort portfolio set the tone for the Jamaica-centric event. Speakers from the highest echelons of government took the stage including Hon. Prime Minister Holness, US Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry, and Jamaica Minister of Tourism the Hon. Edmund Bartlett. Strategic partners, including executives from American Airlines, Air Canada Vacations, Travel Leaders, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), and the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), also addressed the audience with compelling insights and a bright path forward for the destination. Adding to a dynamic lineup of speakers, two resonating thought leadership panels highlighted innovations in hospitality, sustainability, continued team member engagement and more.
“Jamaica’s tourism is everybody’s business, an intertwined ecosystem that brings farmers and taxicab drivers, travel advisors and prime ministers, fishers and pilots together as one,” said Sandals Resorts Executive Chairman Adam Stewart, who also serves as an Ambassador/Special Investment Envoy for Tourism for Jamaica. “The story of Sandals is the story of Jamaica… to always, together, work toward better. That is at the heart of our superbrand and forged in our homegrown values of hard work, exceeding expectations and trust in those who lift you up, who believe in you. That is the lasting legacy of my father, the late Gordon “Butch” Stewart, who taught me to cherish relationships with those who care as much as you do, who share your dreams of better and who will complement your gifts with their own,” said Stewart.
Jamaica Minister of Tourism the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, gave the closing speech at the Jamaica Love Showcase, where he acknowledged Travel Advisors as the island’s most important partners in making tourism the number one economic activity in Jamaica, enabling 11 consecutive quarters of economic growth.
A Lasting Relationship with Travel Advisors
Opening remarks were delivered by Gary C. Sadler, OD, Executive Vice President of Sales & Industry Relations at Unique Vacations, Inc. (UVI), an affiliate of the worldwide representative of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts, who spoke about the importance of travel advisors in the brand’s success.
“Travel advisors are the single most effective tool in changing hearts and minds and most importantly, moving the needle,” said Sadler. “We know that informed advisors, prepared with firsthand knowledge and experience, are the ambassadors for this moment. They have the trust of their clients and this event was designed to empower them further, giving them the tools they need to promote Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts in Jamaica confidently and passionately.”
Following a group Reading Road Trip experience earlier in the week, Chairman’s Royal Club travel advisors attending the Jamaica Love Tour surprised their hosts with an $81,000 USD donation to the Sandals Foundation on the Jamaica Love Showcase stage.
Accuracy and Advocacy
One of the key themes woven throughout the conference was aligning perception with reality when it comes to the success of Jamaica and the safety of visitors in Jamaica.
Sandals Resorts’ Chief Experience Officer Jessica Shannon led discussions on the state and future of sustainability in the Caribbean, the company’s commitment to investing in its people, and the wider impact of its role in the island’s Linkages Council.
“There is only one Jamaica,” said Stewart. “Jamaica is having a moment. It’s an extraordinary moment. Our unemployment is at 4.5% right now. Our debt to GDP [ratio] has been cut in half… Our national reserves are 3x higher than they were while I was growing up. The Jamaica brand has never been bigger. Jamaica is a rockstar Caribbean island and has never hit harder.”
During his address, Hon. Prime Minister Holness ensured that his administration is working hard to reinforce that Jamaica’s brand is a safe, secure, sustainable, and seamless destination.
“There are so many things that are happening in Jamaica that have not yet made it into the consciousness of the world, so that Jamaica is properly placed and positioned in the minds of our tourists, visitors, and people who would want to do business with us,” said Hon. Prime Minister Holness. “Our friends in the tourism and travel industry who are here are very important partners in us achieving our goals. It’s important that when advisors bring visitors to Jamaica, it’s clear they are not just helping the hotels. The dollar of that visitor is making its way into the pocket of a family that will benefit, grow and develop.”
Major Tourism Infrastructure Unveiled
Gary C. Sadler, OD addresses a spirited group of Travel Advisors and industry partners as the master of ceremonies at the Jamaica Love Showcase in Montego Bay.
Received with great fanfare, Hon. Prime Minister Holness also announced the incredible investment the destination is making in the island’s infrastructure, most notably with a new international airport in Negril, a new terminal at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, improvements to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, and building new roads on the southeastern coast to better connect the island, which will create an entirely new dimension of tourism in Jamaica.
Investment in Jamaica is Investment in the Future
Summarizing the impact of the day, Jamaica Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett was frank. “This is perhaps the single most immersive tourism, thought leadership summit, that Jamaica has ever had. And it is important that it happens now. And it is important that it is happening to the number one indigenous product of the Caribbean, Sandals Resorts International,” Minister Bartlett. “I felt what it means to regenerate, to reimagine, to reposition, to reconcile, and to create, in fact, the renaissance, that will move Sandals and Jamaica tourism to the next level.”
Travel Leaders’ Stephen McGillivray addresses the crowd during the Jamaica Love Showcase: “This is our opportunity to use our influence as professional advisors and deliver a message to our clients that Jamaica is a top choice for 2025 and beyond.”
Since Sandals Montego Bay opened its doors in 1981, the brand has continued to invest in Jamaica, developing programmes such as the Sandals Corporate University to uplift and prepare rising hospitality talent, to the Sandals Foundation, the brand’s philanthropic partner aimed at improving the lives of Caribbean communities where the brand operates — and, most importantly, Sandals’ expansive development and continued innovation in the hospitality space that keeps Jamaica one of the most visited destinations in the world.
“Always, we move toward better,” said Stewart. “This is Sandals 2.0 – a new chapter built on innovation, deeper connectivity, and the same commitment to excellence that’s always set us apart. Together, with our incredible partners and the community that inspires us, we’re continuing to build Brand Jamaica. This gathering is a testament to the connectivity between our organization, government and our travel partners in the private sector, demonstrating that together, we can affect significant and meaningful change in our beloved destination, recognizing Jamaica for its beauty, convenient accessibility, affordability, safety and endless possibilities. Jamaica is here and ready for you now.”
Sandals and Beaches Team Members perform for a group of 700 Travel Advisors at the Jamaica Love Showcase in Montego Bay on October 16th.
An array of local entertainers, including Jamaican singer-songwriter Christopher Martin, energized the crowd with performances and special surprises throughout the showcase.
Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent
Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.
At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.
The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.
Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment.
With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.
Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.
CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”
For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.
For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.
