Canadian diplomat hails Jamaica’s tourism ‘hustle’
Published:Thursday | November 3, 2022 | 12:07 AM
CANADA’s HIGH commissioner to Jamaica, Emina Tudakovic, says she is an admirer of the island’s “hustle” in the international tourism marketplace, singling out Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and Sandals Resorts’ travel advisers for their work.
Tudakovic was addressing the launch of the 26th annual Baxter Media Sandals Travel Industry Golf Tournament at Sandals Ocho Rios in St Ann recently.
“I really like the hustle of the Jamaica Tourist Board and your minister,” Tudakovic said in a short but far-reaching speech, touching on what she described as the “multifaceted” relationship that Jamaica shares with Canada, which had prompted her to apply for a diplomatic posting on the island.
The golf tournament, which concluded on Tuesday at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, St Mary, is one of three staged annually by Sandals Resorts to promote Jamaica as a golfing destination to travel agents in the United States, Latin American and Canadian markets.
Last month’s Latin American tournament coincided with the 40th Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from October 3-5, where Bartlett said the sector has led Jamaica’s economic recovery, earning nearly US$5.7 billion since the country reopened its borders in June 2020.
Amid praising Jamaica for the innovative marketing of its tourism product, Tudakovic also spoke about Canada’s partnership with Jamaica in facility-building in areas such as national security and the role seasonal agricultural workers play in both economies. However, she emphasised the importance of the island becoming a more active trading partner with her country.
“Crime is an issue [that] doesn’t appear to affect you in the tourism industry, but it does. There are headlines, and people read these headlines and ask themselves, ‘Do I really want to go to Jamaica?’
“Canada prioritises its relationship with the Caribbean, which is our backyard. We look at Jamaica as a significant partner. One of the reasons I wanted to come to Jamaica is the multifaceted relationship we share,” Tudakovic said, pointing to military cooperation, including the Jamaican Operational Support Hub, an arrangement signed in June 2012 to build on the Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP) and further expand Canada-Jamaica bilateral defence relations.
Jamaica became a member of the MTCP in 1965, through which thousands of Jamaican military personnel have received sponsored training. The MTCP has also assisted the Jamaica Defence Force in establishing and/or upgrading institutions such as the Caribbean Military Aviation School, Technical Training Institute, Caribbean Junior Command and Staff Course, Caribbean Counter-Terrorism Training Centre and the Caribbean Military Maritime Training Centre.
Jamaica continues to win major international tourism awards. At this year’s staging of the World Travel Awards Caribbean & the America’s Gala, held at Sandals Montego Bay, the island was named the Caribbean’s Leading Destination in 2022 for the 16th straight year.
Jamaica also won the award for Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination; Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board, the 14th year in a row; and Caribbean’s Leading Nature Destination.