Jamaica and Cuba to collaborate on Tourism issues....says PM Golding

Mr Golding was speaking this afternoon (May 5) following extensive talks earlier with Cuba’s President Raul Castro, during his official three day visit to Havana, Cuba. Mr Golding said that during those talks the question of tourism was raised because it was felt that Cuba has so much to offer in terms of expansion of tourism.

He said Jamaica has been a dominate player in this section of the Caribbean as well as in the US market and that Jamaica has some expertise which it believes it can also offer Cuba in terms of promoting and managing the tourism product.

Mr Golding said one of the areas to be explored is the possibility of multiple destination marketing where visitors can purchase a package through which they could spend some time in Jamaica and some time in Cuba. However details of this and other arrangements relating to the tourism industry will be worked out between today and tomorrow when the Minister of Tourism, Ed Bartlett, one of five Minister accompanying Prime Minister Golding on the Cuban visit, meets with his counterpart for one on one discussions.

Mr Golding noted that he had taken five of his Ministers on the official visit to Cuba and that he was impressed that President Castro had also arranged for their counterparts to be present at the meeting. He said the Ministers from both sides would be meeting between today and tomorrow to further the ideas that were raised in the meeting and hopefully will arrive at some specific areas in which both sides will be able to work together.

The other Ministers visiting with Mr Golding include the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Kenneth Baugh, Ministers of Health, Rudyard Spencer, Water and Housing, Dr Horace Chang, and Agriculture, Dr Christopher Tufton.

Mr Golding will continue his schedule tomorrow with visits to the University of Informatics, the Finlay Institute and Las Guasimas, a protected culture farm. Mr Golding and the Jamaican delegation return to the island on Wednesday.