This is dependent on the type of licence that the operator is applying for. The following are the categories of licences issued:
- Attraction
- Bike Rentals
- Car Rentals
- Craft Traders
- Contract Carriage Operators
- Domestic Tour Operators
- Home Stay (Bed and Breakfast)
- Hotels
- Resort Cottage which is broken down into
- Apartment
- Guest House
- Villa
- Place of Interest
- Travel Halts
- Water Sports Operator and employee
By submitting a completed application to the Tourism Product Development Company Ltd, which an agency of the Ministry of Tourism. The applications can be accessed from this website or through our regional offices located in:
- Kingston
- Montego Bay
- Ocho Rios
- Negril
- Mandeville
Training courses are available for the following type of licenses. Training is provided by our Training unit:
- Contract Carriage Licence – Team Jamaica Certificate Training
- Craft Traders’ Licence – Team Jamaica Certificate Training
- Attraction Licence – Tour Guide Certificate Training and Team Jamaica Certificate Training
- Domestic Tour Operator’s Licence – Tour Guide Certificate Training and Team Jamaica Certificate Training
- It takes two (2) weeks to process the Contract Carriage and Craft Traders’ Licences
- It takes approximately one (1) month to process the other categories of licences as the Board of the Directors of the Jamaica Tourist Board meet on the third Tuesday of the Month and the submissions have to be made in advance of the meeting.
- This information can be obtained from the Licence Processing Unit of TPDCo where the data base is housed.
- In addition the information should be located on the website of the Jamaica Tourist Board at visitjamaica.com
As per the Tourist Board Act, persons providing tourism related services are required to be in possession of a Jamaica Tourist Board licence (JTB). There are several benefits of being in possession of a JTB licence and they are namely:
- Access to incentives offered to JTB licensed entities under the Fiscal Incentives (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
- To be listed on the Jamaica Tourist Board
There are various expiry dates for the various licences and they are as follows:
LICENCE TYPE |
ANNUAL EXPIRY DATE |
COST OF LICENCE PER YEAR |
ATTRACTIONS |
APRIL 30TH |
$10,000/ year and $30,000 for a 3 YR licence (granted to new entities and renewal after) |
BIKE RENTALS |
MARCH 31ST |
$10,000 |
CAR RENTALS |
SEPTEMBER 30TH |
$10,000 |
CONTRACT CARRIAGE |
MARCH 31ST |
$5,000 / vehicle and $800 for each additional driver |
CRAFT TRADER |
JUNE 30TH |
$1,300 / shop and $800 for each assistant |
DOMESTIC TOUR |
MARCH 31ST |
$10,000 |
HOME STAY (BED AND BREAKFAST) |
ONE YEAR AFTER DATE OF WHICH LICENCE WAS FIRST GRANTED |
NO COST |
HOTEL |
INDEFINITE – NO EXPIRY DATE |
NO COST |
PLACE OF INTEREST |
APPROVAL LETTER – NO EXPIRY DATE |
NO COST |
RESORT COTTAGE: · APARTMENT · GUEST HOUSE · VILLA |
INDEFINITE – NO EXPIRY DATE |
NO COST |
TRAVEL HALT |
APPROVAL LETTER – NO EXPIRY DATE |
NO COST |
WATER SPORTS |
APRIL 30TH |
$10,000 for Operator and $800 for each employee
|
The requirements for licensing are the same, however for an Attraction, there must be an entry fee while for a Place of Interest there is no entry fee.
There is no limit to the amount and an assessment would have to be made by the insurance company in order to determine a recommended amount for the entity.
Yes we accept Public Liability Insurance from overseas companies.
As per the Tourist Board Act, persons providing tourism related services are required to be in possession of a Jamaica Tourist Board licence (JTB). There are several benefits of being in possession of a JTB licence and they are namely:
- Access to incentives offered to JTB licensed entities under the Fiscal Incentives (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
- To be listed on the Jamaica Tourist Board
Incentives are provided under the Fiscal Incentives (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act to the following categories of tourism licences granted:
- Attractions
- Car Rentals
- Contract Carriage Operator
- Domestic Tour Operator for the Contract Carriage vehicles
- Hotels
- Resort Cottage which is broken down into
- Apartment
- Guest House
- Villa
- Water Sports Operator
Tourism is a broad based industry and depending on the type of licence being applied for, then the respective requirements are needed according to the entity type.