Jamaica’s tourism ministry has identified yet another niche market — food. Gastronomy Tourism Corridors will be established in select areas of Kingston to leverage the country’s culinary tourism offerings and bolster the capital city’s position as a premier tourist destination.
The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett during the launch of Jamaica Food and Drink Festival.
“We have looked at the corridor from Half Way Tree to Papine. Already we have more than 100 restaurants along that corridor, and in the middle of it all is the Gastronomy Centre of Kingston, Devon House. So we will be working together to build out this initiative. The Linkages Network, led by Carolyn McDonald-Riley, will be looking at how we can make that functional,” said Bartlett.
The minister added that this corridor would also include New Kingston, which has several eateries, restaurants and hotels, primarily along Knutsford Boulevard.
“We cannot avoid New Kingston in these discussions. Knutsford Boulevard represents itself in this regard, and it cannot be denied. So, we will have to look at not just a corridor in that sense, but in the same way [that] we have more than one Tourism Resilience Corridors in Jamaica… we can look at more than one gastronomy tourism corridors in Kingston,” he explained.
The gastronomy tourism corridor from Knutsford Boulevard would continue along Trafalgar Road, leading to Devon House, then to Lady Musgrave Road to encapsulate the hotels and eateries in that area.
“We are going to ensure that Kingston takes its place as the mega tourism city – with food, entertainment, sports and knowledge as the centre of its appeal,” said Bartlett.
The Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen is Jamaica’s newest culinary initiative. It is the first of its kind on the island and boasts a gourmet market, mixology counter, fully equipped studio kitchen and entertainment deck. It will also be home to the annual Jamaica Food and Drink Festival with this year’s staging – JFDF2021 ‘In D’Kitchen’ – offering 24 culinary events over 12 days. The festival will run from November 24 to December 5.
