22 Apr 2014
Jamaica, the world's fastest chilled island, promises to bring its own unique vibrant and colourful brand of celebration and fanfare to the sporting calendar this summer. The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) announced today that the Jamaica House Glasgow will open its doors, this time during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, taking place July 23 to August 3, 2014.
Jamaica House 2014 will be located at 29, a members only club in Glasgow. It will be hosted in partnership with Barrhead Travel, one of the UK's largest independent travel groups, boasting a network of 55 locations across the UK. Situated in the heart of the city, 29 will be Jamaica's hospitality and media hub during the games, and thanks to the venue's giant screens, will host two exclusive media and travel-trade client events. These events will coincide with the Men's and Women's 200m Finals on Thursday 31st July and the Men and Women's 100m and 400m relay Finals relay races on Saturday 2nd August, races in which Jamaica's fastest athletes are likely to compete.
Non-members wishing to savour the Jamaican flavour can head over to Royal Exchange Square, which will be transformed into a 'mini-Jamaica' for everyone to 'Get All Right'. Think Jamaican flag bunting adorning the streets and venue's roof terrace... reggae rhythms floating through 29's clubs, bars and restaurants... and delicious Jamaican jerk, rum cocktails and Red Stripe beer on the menu keeping the vibe nice and 'irie'.
Elizabeth Fox, Jamaica Tourist Board's Regional Director for UK and N. Europe, said; “Jamaica House at 29 will become Scotland's hub for all things Jamaican, and we're really looking forward to hosting our travel trade partners as we all watch and celebrate Jamaica's dominance in the Commonwealth Games' most eagerly-awaited races.
Jamaica has a long history of involvement in the Commonwealth Games and was in fact the host nation in 1966. This Jamaica House event will be our reward to those journalists and clients who have supported Jamaica over the years and helped to make our island one of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits to jet off to.”
Sharon Munro, Chief Executive of Barrhead Travel, said: “Our business has Glasgow at its heart and every year we book thousands of Glaswegians who flock to Jamaica to lap up its sun-drenched shores and unique culture. Partnering with Jamaica Tourist Board to bring Jamaica House to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games is the perfect extension of our close relationship with the country.”
Jamaica has teamed up with its tourism partners to give away a host of prizes, including holidays, courtesy of Jewel Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spas, Sandals Resorts and Virgin Atlantic Airways. STV is the Jamaica House media sponsor, and will be running competitions for the opportunity to win Jamaica breaks in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.
In July, Barrhead Travel will run a Jamaica month promotion, decking out its shops Jamaican-stylee, and feature a special package offer to Jamaica for just £958. The price celebrates Jamaican elite athlete Usain Bolt's world record-breaking 100m time of 9.58 seconds. Barrhead Travel is confident this offer will be snapped up by customers in lightning speed!
The Jamaica House concept opened for the first time at the London 2012 Olympics in Jamaica's 50th anniversary year of Independence, and was hosted again in Moscow in 2013 for the IAAF World Championships.
For more information on Jamaica please see www.VisitJamaica.com
[ENDS]
For enquiries regarding Jamaica House at Glasgow 2014 please contact:
Jamaica Tourist Board
Elizabeth Fox
T: 020 7225 9090
For all other media enquiries please contact:
McCluskey International
Fiona Anderson / Sarah Salord
T: 020 8747 2170
About Jamaica Tourist Board
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica's national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. The JTB was declared the Caribbean's Leading Tourist Board by the World Travel Awards (WTA) from 2006 to 2013. Also in 2013, Jamaica earned the WTA's vote for the World's Leading Cruise Destination, Caribbean's Leading Destination and Caribbean's Leading Cruise Destination for the seventh consecutive year. Additionally, the Historic Falmouth Cruise Port was recognised as the World's Leading Tourism Development Project while Ocho Rios was named the Caribbean's Leading Cruise Port and Sangster International Airport was voted the Caribbean's Leading Airport. In Canada, Jamaica was voted the Favourite Honeymoon Destination by Travel Agents.
JTB offices are located in Kingston, Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.
For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodations in Jamaica go to the JTB's website at www.visitjamaica.com or call the Jamaica Tourist Board 020 7225 9090. Follow the JTB on Facebook at www.facebook.com/visitjamaicauk, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jtbuk, on Instagram at www.instagram/visitjamaicauk, on Pintrest at www.pintrest/myjamaica, or on YouTube at www.youtube.com/myjamaicajtb. View the JTB blog at www.islandbuzzjamaica.com.
About Barrhead Travel
Barrhead Travel employs 800 staff across 55 UK locations and is one of the largest and most successful travel groups in the UK. Established in 1975, the company has evolved from a traditional travel agent to a multi-faceted travel group chartering its own flights, offering bespoke holidays to all corners of the globe, running an in-house training facility and employing expert consultants specialising in areas such as long haul, cruise and ski.
The company has won many awards over the years, including Top UK Travel Agency and Best Travel Agency in Scotland for 12 years running and was awarded a position in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100. Barrhead Travel was also named Employer of the Year at the Scottish Business Awards and has been recognised as one of the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For for the last five years.
