Discussions targeted financing pathways for MSMEs as Jamaica deepens tourism ties with Saudi Arabia
Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (L) and CEO of Saudi Eksab Yazeed Saleh AIYahya, take a photo following a productive meeting with Senior Tourism officials and Senior Representatives of Saudi Eksab on Wednesday September 9, 2026, at their office in Riyadh.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia; Tuesday September, 2026: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has held engagements with Saudi Eksab to explore avenues for investment support targeted at Jamaica’s small and micro tourism enterprises, as the island continues to broaden its network of international partners committed to inclusive tourism growth.
The engagement forms part of the Minister’s ongoing strategy to strengthen ties with Middle Eastern markets and investment partners, and to widen access to capital for local operators — including hotels, tour operators, craft vendors, and community tourism enterprises — who form the backbone of Jamaica’s visitor economy.
The preliminary discussions with the CEO of Saudi Eksab, Yazeed Saleh AIYahya, focused on potential financing instruments, technical assistance, or co-investment structures with an emphasis on ensuring that small tourism enterprises, often underserved by conventional financing, can access the capital and support needed to grow, modernise, and compete.
“Small and micro tourism enterprises account for a significant share of employment and entrepreneurship across Jamaica’s tourism sector. The Ministry has identified access to financing, technical capacity, and market linkages as priority areas in its ongoing efforts to ensure these businesses benefit directly from the island’s continued growth in visitor arrivals and earnings, said Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.
Saudi Eksab is an international investment entity that provides strategic capital needed to unlock the potential of frontier and emerging markets. It was established to build upon Saudi Arabia’s impressive history of supporting shared global prosperity by supporting emerging economies.
“The engagement with Saudi Eksab is aligned with the Ministry of Tourism’s Local First strategy, which is focused on strengthening Jamaica’s domestic productive capacity, prioritizing Jamaican suppliers and enabling local enterprises to retain a greater share of the value generated by tourism. By connecting Eksab’s investment capital and technical expertise with Jamaica’s small and medium tourism enterprises, the initiative presents a practical opportunity to improve access to financing, accelerate business expansion and innovation, and position more Jamaican-owned enterprises to participate competitively in the tourism value chain,” added the Minister.
As these strategic discussions continue, next steps will be to execute a technical visit to Jamaica with senior Saudi Eksab officials to look at potential investment opportunities.
ABOUT THE JAMAICA TOURIST BOARD:
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are also located in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are in Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris.
Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions and service providers that continue to receive prominent global recognition. In 2025, TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #13 Best Honeymoon Destination, #11 Best Culinary Destination, and #24 Best Cultural Destination in the World. In 2024, Jamaica was declared ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Family Destination’ for the fifth consecutive year by the World Travel Awards, which also named the JTB the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’ for the 17th consecutive year.
Jamaica earned six Travvy Awards, including a gold for ‘Best Travel Agent Academy Program’ and silver for ‘Best Culinary Destination – Caribbean’ and ‘Best Tourism Board – Caribbean’. The destination also received bronze recognition for ‘Best Destination – Caribbean’, ‘Best Wedding Destination – Caribbean’, and ‘Best Honeymoon Destination – Caribbean’. Additionally, Jamaica received a TravelAge West WAVE award for ‘International Tourism Board Providing the Best Travel Advisor Support’ for a record-setting 12th time.
