Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that Jamaica’s natural resources and geographic location make the island well-positioned to become a leader in the health and wellness tourism industry.
He called for greater investment in Jamaica’s industry to ensure sustainable growth.
“We can move to build out the health and wellness industry. People are traveling to reclaim their youth, and they are more health-conscious than ever before in tourism. What COVID-19 has done is emphasize the need for health and wellness,” said Bartlett.
“Jamaica, because of its geographical location and its geophysical features, stands in a good position to capture much of that movement for health and wellness that is now globally evident.” “We must therefore invest in it,” he added.
Minister Bartlett made the remarks during the fourth Jamaica Health and Wellness Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on November 24.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our bankers and the capital market. But more so to our entrepreneurs, who should look at this option because now more than ever, the demand for health and wellness is at a premium in the world.
“Because the COVID pandemic harmed the market a little bit, with the market valued at 4.4 trillion dollars in 2019 and now on the rise to 2 trillion, let us stay right there and move with that curve with investments in health and wellness,” explained Bartlett.
Industry trends show that many destinations around the world are now synonymous with health and healing, especially after COVID-19. This has led to the flourishing of health and wellness tourism which prompted Bartlett to urge bankers and business owners to invest in this sector.
“We have two of the finest natural spas in the world: the bathing fountain and the milk river. Our enterprise team is working very hard on that.
“Last month we had a very important consultation with potential investors, and we are looking at divesting those two. We have good calls that are being made on it to transform those two into world-class products to drive more resources into Jamaica and greater revenue flows into the country,” said Bartlett.
