Hoteliers and travel agents are slashing prices in a bid to tempt tourists back to Jamaica following last week’s civil unrest in West Kingston. Holiday sales to the tropical paradise dropped by 20 per cent in recent days as security forces repelled attacks from gunmen loyal to wanted drugs don Christopher ‘Dudas’ Coke. Tourists in Canada, the US and the UK were also warned against travel to the region.

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The Calabash International Literary Festival is set to go ahead tomorrow in Treasure Beach, despite the civil unrest 85 miles away in Kingston. The three-day festival will be held at Jake’s and will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year as poets and other writers read their submissions to live audiences throughout the weekend.

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Some of the best chefs in the country are getting ready to showcase their BBQ skills for the annual country grill-off on 5 June. The 2010 Appleton Estate All Jamaica Grill-off will feature some of the best tasting, open-flame prepared meats the country has to offer, with Jo-Jo’s Jerk Pit and More hoping to retain the title it earned during last year’s event.

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Kingston is preparing to host Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW), the annual regional event to be held between the 8th and the 14th of June. The event will be held at the National Indoor Sports Centre, and will see models, designers, celebrities, and fashion industry professionals celebrating the 10th year of CFW. Leading towards the event is Ready for CFW, the Pulse TV series premiering this Saturday.

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Children visiting Jamaican museums and other exhibitions will receive free passes during Workers’ Week this year, from May 16th to the 24th. The initiative is sponsored by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), an agency under the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, and will also host several activities during the many Workers’ Week and Labor Day commemorations.

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Usain Bolt, the world-famous Jamaican sprinter and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, is opening a sports lounge in Kingston. The $1 million USD investment, sponsored and partially financed by Kingston Live Entertainment (KLE), will be located next to Fiction at Market Place and is scheduled to open its doors for the first time towards the end of the year. The layout of the lounge will be similar to that of a stadium, complete with a mezzanine, multiple bars, interactive booth seating, and of course, Usain Bolt products and memorabilia.

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Hotel financers from around the world believe Jamaica to be the best spot for new development and are backing investors who are rolling-out fresh projects throughout the country. A recent survey by KPMG showed that over $2.5 billion USD is being funneled to Jamaica by financers from all the major English and Spanish-speaking countries in the western hemisphere, as well as from the Dutch Caribbean region and South America.

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Jamaican tourist minister Edmund Bartlett is calling for a regional agricultural supply center to help Caribbean farmers maintain supply independence. Bartlett announced his initiative Tuesday while he was speaking at the Rotary District 7020 Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston. He argued that by consolidating agricultural products throughout the Caribbean, more revenue would be generated by the tourist sector, which now accounts for only three per cent of the sales in agricultural products from Jamaican farmers.

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The 2010 Classical Concert at the US Embassy in St Andrew left everyone in attendance overjoyed by the stellar performance. The performers included Jamaican violinist Steven Woodham, pianists Dr Chapman Nyaho and Roger Williams, and soprano Lori Burnett. The annual event took place this year on April 29, and saw some spectacular renditions of classical favorites.

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An American woman is on the verge of setting a record for the longest continuous stay at a Jamaican resort. Connie Farr, a Vermont native, has been at SuperClub’s Breezes Resort and Spa Runaway Bay in St Ann for 57 straight days. She plans on staying for another week, for a total of 64 days, which is believed to be the record for an uninterrupted stay at a Jamaican resort.

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