Jamaica Ministry of Tourism is working to position the island as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, as it continues to build out the country’s tourism product.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said Jamaica will be seeking to partner with several international culinary institutions to broaden the scope and scale of engagement in formal training.
“There is a growing cadre of afro global chefs that we want to bring into the Jamaican space to show our people that gastronomy is a powerful vocation and you can invest in it and become professional in it,” he said.
The Minister was speaking at the second Jamaica Forum on Gastronomy Tourism held on June 18 at the Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston under the theme ‘Reimagining Jamaica’s Gastronomy Industry’.
Held in observance of United Nations World Sustainable Gastronomy Day, the Forum brought together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, chefs, farmers, and tourism stakeholders to explore how gastronomy can drive innovation, strengthen tourism linkages, and support sustainable economic growth.
Mr. Bartlett further noted that “the essence of tourism is not accommodation. It is consumption pattern – what they eat, what they drink, what they buy, attractions that they go to, the creative experiences that they crave – art, music, dance”.
“If we own the supply side, then the retention of the United States dollar will be greater. We have determined that the next phase of our development will be (the gastronomic experience),” he added.
Hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network (TLN), a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), the forum reflected the Ministry of Tourism’s ongoing commitment to leveraging Jamaica’s culinary heritage as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
