From Tourism Industry to Tourism Economy: Ed Bartlett at Caribbean Week 2026
At Caribbean Week New York 2026, Jamaica's Minister of Tourism and Chair of the CTO Tourism Supply Side Ministerial Committee, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett, set out his case for a fundamental shift in how the Caribbean approaches its most important industry.
In this address, Minister Bartlett argues that the region must move beyond measuring tourism by arrivals and occupancy and build a fully integrated tourism economy — one that connects agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and the creative industries to tourism demand.
He reveals that in some Caribbean territories, less than 5% of tourist spending is retained within the local economy and outlines the committee's mandate to reverse that figure through regional supply chain development and a new logistics hub framework, with Jamaica as the pilot.
Minister Bartlett also announces the formal partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with a demand-driven analysis of regional goods and services scheduled for completion by February 2027. The speech closes with a vision of tourism as the defining vehicle for Caribbean economic integration — and a challenge to the region to make the pivot from demand-side to supply-side tourism.
0:00 A Defining Moment for Caribbean Tourism
1:05 Tourism Driven by Consumption
2:15 The Retention Problem — As Low as 5%
3:02 Objective of Supply Side Ministerial Sub Committee
3:52 IDB Partnership Announcement
5:11 Logistics Hub — Jamaica as the Pilot
6:34 KPIs, Timelines and February 2027 Target
8:03 AI, Human Intelligence and the 10% Advantage
9:19 Tourism as True Engine for Development
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