August 2013 - The Jamaica Tourist Board recently brought some much-needed Caribbean sunshine to the South West of the UK, during a one-week Sales Mission where the team visited travel agents in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

Following Jamaica's increased profile during 2012, the destination has seen a rise in demand from UK holidaymakers and the aim of the mission was to help travel agents sell Jamaica as a key holiday destination through a series of informative training presentations and events. The Jamaica Tourist Board sales team travelled around the three counties from 15 - 19 July, during which agents were educated and updated on new product offerings and developments from Jamaica.

As part of the Sales Mission, the Jamaica Tourist Board teamed up with Sandals to host over 50 travel agents at a Jamaica-themed event in Exeter. During the evening, guests enjoyed traditional Jamaican hospitality including rum punch, reggae music and a Jamaican buffet, and the first six agents who arrived in shorts were awarded with a Jamaica Goody Bag. Agents were also offered the opportunity to enter a competition to win several prizes including a place on a fam trip to Jamaica with Sandals. 

Elizabeth Fox, Regional Director for Jamaica Tourist Board in UK and Northern Europe said, "Following an increase of Post-Olympic interest in Jamaica, we felt this provided the ideal opportunity to develop more of a presence in the South West of the UK. Our sales missions are an invaluable tool in enabling us to bring travel agents up to speed on product developments and industry news. By doing so, we keep Jamaica front of mind and further increase the awareness of Jamaica's tourism product, therefore helping our agent partners sell Jamaica as a holiday destination more effectively. 

"We also inject some warm Jamaican hospitality into the missions by allowing agents to sample some of our local delicacies such as jerk chicken, rum punch and of course reggae music allowing agents to enjoy a real taste of Jamaica."

Travel agents wanting to become a Jamaica Travel Specialist can also visit www.jamaicatravelspecialist.co.uk to learn more about what makes Jamaica the perfect holiday destination. 

For more information on Jamaica, visit www.VisitJamaica.com.
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Photo CaptionsImage 1 (from left to right): Donovan Donaldson (Marketing Representative for Jamaica Tourist Board) gives a presentation on the latest developments taking place in Jamaica.

Image 2 (from left to right): Donovan Donaldson (Marketing Representative for Jamaica Tourist Board), Neil Reed (Business Development Manager for Sandals) and Torrance Lewis (District Sales Manager for Jamaica Tourist Board).

Image 3: Suzanne Wren (Travel Consultant at Personal Travel Agents, Co-Operative Travel), Donovan Donaldson (Marketing Representative for Jamaica Tourist Board) and Karen Hamilton (Travel Consultant at Personal Travel Agents, Co-Operative Travel).

For more information or photos please contact:
McCluskey International
Sarah Salord / Edward Herath
T: 020 8747 2170
E: jamaica@mccluskey.co.uk

About the Jamaica Tourist Board
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica's national tourism agency, based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are located in Kingston, Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.

Jamaica was named "Favourite Worldwide Destination" by the readers of British Travel Awards' Check-In magazine at the publication's new Readers' Choice Awards 2012. Jamaica was also voted the 2010 World's Leading Beach Destination (Montego Bay) by the World Travel Awards.

For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodation in Jamaica visit the JTB website at www.visitjamaica.com, or call the JTB on 020 7225 9090.