The Jamaica Product Exchange begins

By Guy Britton

MONTEGO BAY — Jamaica’s leading tourism conference, JAPEX, opened to an enthusiastic crowd Sunday evening at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

This is the 25th edition of JAPEX, which first launched in 1990. At the time, it was designed to include a broad spectrum of the island’s tourism industry, beyond just hotels.

Now, JAPEX has fully integrated locally-owned industry, agriculture and attractions, making it a true “exchange” of product and ideas in the country’s major industry.

Sunday’s opening ceremony

Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill said Jamaica’s tourism sector was “doing extremely well and continues to grow every year.”

Jamaica broke the two-million-stopover barrier in each of the last two years, and the country has seen an increase in cruise arrivals from all of the island’s major ports.

Additionally, some 1,600 hotel rooms are under construction right now in Jamaica.

It’s all part of what should be a booming JAPEX event this year, with 230 exhibitors, 300 delegates and more than 100 companies representing industries from manufacturing to agriculture.