Jamaica capitalizes on success of Jamaica House 2016

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Over 20,000 visitors packed into Jamaica House 2016 during the staging of the recently concluded Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Over 20,000 visitors packed into Jamaica House 2016 during the staging of the recently concluded Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The cultural hub for all things Jamaican hosted at the Prado Jockey Club in Gávea, Rio, was the place to be for fans, athletes, dignitaries, celebrities and international media.

With Jamaica House as the centerpiece of its Olympics strategy, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) created a robust public and social media programme to promote the destination.


For its efforts over 1.8 billion media impressions were amassed globally for Jamaica House including features on international broadcast stations such as BBC, CNN and MSNBC as well as popular Brazilian stations like Globo Television. Additionally, approximately 10 million people viewed, clicked, shared and engaged with posts through the JTB’s social media channels, tagging posts with #ReggaeRocksBrazil, the official Jamaica House hashtag.

In addition to media, the JTB also leveraged Jamaica House to network with local tour operators, travel agent and airline partners. More than 180 travel agents were welcomed through the hospitality hub providing them with a taste of the cuisine and culture to be experienced by clients when they visit Jamaica.

“Not only was Jamaica a tremendous success in the world’s premier sporting arena, but Jamaica House was truly the place to be in Rio as thousands of visitors lined up each day to experience Destination Jamaica,” said Paul Pennicook, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. “In fact, according to UK-based travel agency Travel Republic, searches for Jamaica spiked dramatically during the games as bookings rose by 170%.”

According to Mr Pennicook, the JTB will build on the momentum from Jamaica House and is already working with partners to increase airlift from Brazil and the region.

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and its sponsors Red Stripe, Appleton, Sandals Resorts International and Digicel, in partnership with Downsound Records, arranged a host of activities each day to capitalize on the excitement and showcase all that Jamaica has to offer, including destination presentations, consumer promotions, dance classes, and music by resident deejay, DJ Narity. Jamaica House featured nightly entertainment by top Jamaican reggae artistes including, I-Octane, Nature, Luciano and Ky-Mani Marley. Sandals Resorts’ senior group executive chef, Glenroy Walker, also provided mouthwatering Jamaican cuisine.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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