By Nelson A. King
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister
Edmund Bartlett says he is
heartened by results of a new
study by Bloom Consulting that
shows Jamaica has entered the
top 10 tourism country brands
in the Americas for 2019-2020,
moving up five places since the
last assessment.
“I am very proud of the
continued improved positioning
of Jamaica’s tourism product
globally and particularly
the recent Bloom Consulting
positioning, which has given
Jamaica a premiere place in the
Americas,” Bartlett said.
The Jamaica Ministry of
Tourism said the top 10 ranked
countries in the Americas,
from first to 10th place, are the
United States, Mexico, Canada,
Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Puerto
Rico, Dominican Republic,
Argentina and Jamaica.
The ministry also said
Jamaica ranks 52nd out of
198 destinations.
Bloom Consulting, founded
in 2003 by José Filipe Torres, is
a consulting firm that specializes
in nation branding and is
currently represented in three
countries – Spain, Portugal
and Brazil.
The company said its work
focuses mainly on nation
branding and place branding
projects, including research for
tourism, foreign direct investment
Caribbean L 6 ife, September 13-19 2019
and public diplomacy,
collaborating directly with the
Paris-based Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) competitiveness
program and the
World Economic Forum in the
matters of nation branding. ‘
Bloom Consulting said its
ranking “not only measures
perceptions and appeal of a
tourism-specific country brand
but also classifies its relative
branding performance in a
tangible and realistic manner.”
The Jamaica Tourism Ministry
said Bloom Consulting’s
algorithm for its ranking
comprises four key variables,
including the economic
performance of a country’s
tourism sector, its online
performance, as well as digital
measurements, “to present
an accurate and objective
brand ranking.”
“I am particularly pleased
that we are included in this
list for our economic performance,”
Bartlett said. “I am
extremely pleased that our
earnings have grown exponentially;
and whilst we make projections
for US$5 billion over
five years, we are seeing the
kind of increases that makes
us feel confident that we will
achieve those targets.”
The study says that the
Caribbean region experienced
strong growth “despite being
hit by violent hurricanes in the
summer of 2017.”
It also says that “Jamaica
must be congratulated
for reaching a higher country
brand strategy rating and
being able to stabilize its tourism
receipts thanks to prioritizing
its country brand given
the strong competition in
the area.”
Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett
Jamaica Ministry of Tourism
Bartlett said the positive
ranking is a result of “the
hard work being done by the
Ministry of Tourism and other
local stakeholders.”
“I want to use the opportunity
to congratulate my team,
the sector and the stakeholders
who have all been working so
hard,” he said. “Over the last
three years, Jamaica has distinguished
itself as a leader in
so many areas.
“We have grown our arrivals
against the background of
our projections of our fivepillar
strategy – which is to
increase arrivals to 5 million in
five years and earn $5 billion,”
he added.
“I think that all of us as a
nation need to feel justly proud
that we have built an industry
that is truly supportive of
our economic goals and is a
great contributor in job creation
and inclusive growth,”
Bartlett continued.
Jamaica’s tourism minister
upbeat about country brand
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