Tourism ministry to push road safety

THE MINISTRY of Tourism says it is to embed road-safety issues related to tourists in its national programmes and to advocate for the inclusion of road safety as an integral aspect of planning and development for the tourism sector, as it collaborates with regional and global tourism organisations.

Four foreign nationals died in a motor vehicle crash along the Braco main road in Trelawny on July 31.

"We encourage all road users, locals and visitors to our island, to observe good road practices and, in so doing, safely enjoy the beauty of our country and hospitality of our people," said Bartlett.

Bartlett has expressed deep regret at the death of the four visitors.

Global concern

"We are all very saddened at the loss of life, and were deeply moved to learn that the incident involved a group that was on a visit to Jamaica for the holidays," said Bartlett.

The tourism minister noted that road crashes continue to be a global concern for the travel-and-tourism industry, and this is one of the factors which fuels the ministry support of the work of the Ministry of Transport and Works and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) in the development of programmes to promote safe road use and, at the same time, highlight road-safety issues to our visitors.

"The Save 300 Lives road-safety education programme, launched by the NRSC, continues to be an integral tool in promoting safe road use in Jamaica and, as visitors arrive in our island, we trust they will observe the campaign's messages. We also note private-sector initiatives such as 'Make it Click' by the JN Foundation, and Johnny Walker's 'Be A Giant: Don't Drink and Drive' campaigns that also help to drive the message home," the minister said.

Bartlett said the ministry will continue to liaise with global organisations such as the FIA Foundation to help to improve local road infrastructure and advocate for road safety.