Jamaica Offering Cruise Tourists Complimentary Coffee as Part of Marketing Push

JAMAICA — Complimentary coffee tasting for visitors arriving at Jamaica’s cruise ship ports commenced on January 10 with the arrival of the Norwegian Bliss in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. “So 4,000 cruisers and 1,700 crew will arrive… and they will all get a cup of our Jamaican coffee,” said Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, speaking to Jamaica's government-run news service. The minister noted that this forms part of plans to increase the presence of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee within the tourism marketing arrangements. He was speaking at the launch of the third annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on Thursday (January 9). The event, being hosted under the Ministry’s Gastronomy Tourism Network, is Jamaica’s flagship coffee festival, according to the release. It offers an immersive experience from farm to cup, while demonstrating Jamaica’s rich tradition of coffee production in the Blue Mountains region. The festival is slated f...