To mark the 61st anniversary of Jamaican Independence Day, the High Commission of Jamaica organised celebrations in New Delhi, putting the focus on culture, especially music, cuisine and sports, notably cricket. High Commissioner Jason Keats Hall says Jamaica is a wholesome destination primed for receiving Indian travellers.

With Jamaican music, cuisine, culture and cricket in the air, the Jamaican High Commission to India organised a colourful and soulful celebration in New Delhi on Friday to mark the 61st anniversary of Jamaican Independence Day on August 6.

Addressing a packed hall in a leading hotel in New Delhi, in an ambience of Jamaican colours, cricket, cuisine and culture, High Commissioner of Jamaica to India Jason Keats Hall underlined the close ties that India and the Caribbean nation have enjoyed for decades in various dimensions, notably culture, sports and cuisine.

The High Commissioner highlighted the relatively unknown aspect of a centuries-old common link between India and Jamaica with the presence of a significant Indian diaspora in the island nation. With the abolition of slavery in 1839, tens of thousands of immigrants from India had been taken by the British colonial rulers as indentured labour to work on plantations in its colonies around the world, including to Jamaica.

In his address, Hall highlighted the numerous stars, in culture and sports, that the tiny nation of 2.5 million has produced, including being home to the fastest man and fastest woman alive today in the world and numerous other champions in various sports, notably athletics and cricket, where on a lighter note, Hall referred to the West Indies team beating India in the ongoing cricket series. Jamaica is part of the West Indies cricket team.

‘‘We were the first tropical nation to compete in Winter Olympics and today, we have Jamaican teams competing in sports where we should normally not be present, such as bob sleigh or ski,’’ said Hall.

On culture, he also highlighted that Jamaica was home to a large number of music genres, making it the country with highest number of music genres per capita. 

Later, Hall told India Outbound that tourism was a very important aspect of the bilateral relations and that Jamaica was keen on attracting more Indian tourists, mainly due to the diversity and beauty of the destination.

‘Jamaica keen to attract Indian travellers’

‘‘First of all, Jamaica is such an incredibly diverse destination in terms of such tremendous diversity and beauty. The pictures around you essentially capture that. And most importantly, the doors are open to India. You don’t require a visa with a hold of an Indian passport. So we really hope that Indians will take the opportunity to come,’’ Hall told India Outbound.

He added that the two countries shared a long and rich heritage, which the Indian tourists may be pleasantly surprised to discover. “Of course, when they come to Jamaica, they will find other Indians there already, having been there from the mid-1840s. And it is just an incredible experience that we share. Our mutual love of food, sport, music are a perfect match for Indians seeking that unique experience in Jamaica. You know, I often differentiate between a tourist and a traveller. A tourist comes to places to tick them off his checklist. Travellers go somewhere and learn something about that place and in so doing, learn something about themselves. And so I appeal to the travellers in India to really take that opportunity because therein is a one-of-a-kind experience to be had,’’ the High Commissioner added.

‘‘We look forward to welcoming you to our shores. There are over 700 international flights weekly and so, you know, there’s no excuse,’’ he added.

The High Commissioner said that there was not just one reason which would attract Indian travellers. ‘‘In life, no one thing is one thing only. In Jamaica, we say everything is everything. And so it is just that. It is a mixture of all of those experiences combined in one location, one stop. If your passion is romance, if your passion is adventure, if your passion is sport, faith -based, heritage, you’ll find it all. And that is the beauty of Jamaica, is that you are able to appeal to so many different passion points and even inspire people to create new passion points. So we stand ready,’’ Hall added.

Hall added that the destination had constantly been engaging with the Indian travel trade to promote tourism from India. ‘‘Absolutely, we have an agent of record called Trac Representation and they are doing their job to help us engage, meet with people and facilitate the generation of that awareness which is much needed. People know a lot about the West Indies from a cricket standpoint, but we are looking for people to know specifically about Jamaica and how to come to Jamaica and how to feel Jamaica,’’ Hall said.

He added that Jamaica will be hosting its annual tourism trade show JAPEX in September and is looking forward to having Indian agents and media on the occasion. ‘‘JAPEX is a tremendously important travel exchange show bringing together buyers of inventory, sellers of tours, tour operators. It is easily one of the most important events on the calendar for the year in the tourism calendar and it’s a tremendous experience for people to come and have a great time while learning about the destination and having an opportunity to get acquainted with the amazing product that we have on offer. Our agency Trac is responsible for recruiting and getting people to come. So we look forward to welcoming a number of travel agents and tour operators to make it to JAPEX,’’ High Commissioner Hall highlighted.