Dr. Jean Holder Passing: Listen to a moving Statement by the Hon. Edmund Bartlett from Jamaica

The Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett was one of the first Jamaican Tourism leader to issue the following statement on Dr. Holder’s passing:

“Dr. Jean Holder is indeed an iconic Caribbean man who has transcended the region into a global space. He has served tourism as a real giant, and we are all the better for it. Indeed, on his shoulders so many of the leading Caribbean tourism entrepreneurs, administrators, planners, thinkers, and even ministers have stood as we chart a path to make the Caribbean one of the leading destinations in the world.

“We mourn his passing, but we glory in his legacy.

“Jamaica is proud to have had this association with this great Caribbean man from Barbados. We are all in his debt.

“We offer our condolences to his children and to the many other key partners, stakeholders, and extended family that have embraced and encircled him during his lifetime.

“May his soul rest in peace.”

Dr. Holder served his homeland for 14 years as the face of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for 30 years. Later, he took on the post of Chairman of regional carrier LIAT. Previously, Dr. Holder was a Barbadian scholar who studied at Oxford University in London and the University of Toronto in Canada, served as First Secretary in the Barbados High Commission, which was established post-Independence, before returning to Barbados in 1968 to head the Economic and Policy Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Holder was also involved in Barbados culture, forming the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) committee which he chaired with a number of prominent Barbadian artists in 1973.