All India, 17th Nov. 2022: Jamaica tourism sector is on track for record arrivals for the month of October 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. According to Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, preliminary figures released by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) for the first three weeks of October, show stopover visitor arrivals of 123,514.

This topped figures for the same period in October 2019 by some 10,026, which saw 113,488 tourists visiting Jamaica. Stopover arrivals for the same period in October 2020 stood at 27,849, a significant decline because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but increased to 72,203 for the same three-week period in October 2021, when the sector began to show recovery from the pandemic.

“Overall, 2022 is proving to be a record year for arrivals. Our numbers continue to grow, and October is also shaping up to be another record-breaking month,” he said at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s (JHTA) 60th anniversary gala dinner held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, St. James.

The Minister said he expects the figures for October “to be even more impressive when the cruise figures are tallied.”

The Tourism Minister noted that the sector continues to recover at a faster than anticipated pace, which he attributes to the unified approach by players in the industry who have been putting in considerable work to market the destination.

“These figures underscore a unified commitment of all stakeholders to putting our best foot forward and innovating in the marketplace to come out better on the other side of two years of disruption,” he said.

“While due to the pandemic, we had updated our growth target to achieve five million visitors, US$5 billion in earnings and 5000 new rooms by 2025. Based on our current performance, we are projected to meet these targets ahead of the timeline,”

Minister Bartlett

However, he pointed out that despite the recent successes, even greater unity, and collaboration among tourism stakeholders is needed to “innovate and solve complex pandemic related challenges that are still affecting the tourism sector”.

Mr. Bartlett said these include supply chain disruptions that have not only impacted goods and services, but also human capital.

He congratulated the JHTA on its 60th diamond anniversary, noting that the organisation has played a pivotal role in the successful development of Jamaica’s tourism industry over the years.

Meanwhile, President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Keith Duncan, describes tourism as an important pillar of Jamaica’s economic development.

He stated that the industry continues to outperform other sectors in the economy and “has been Jamaica’s mainstay over the past three decades, even as our economy face many challenges and bouts of macro-economic instability”.

“Tourism drives Jamaica’s economy. Economic data shows that tourism is the fastest growing sector in the Jamaican economy. Over a five-year period from 2015 to 2019 tourism grew by an average of 2.6 percent per annum while the rest of the Jamaican economy grew at an average rate of 1.2 percent. Now tourism doubled the rest of the economy,” he shared.

About 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 located in Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris.

In 2021, the JTB was declared ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination,’ ‘World’s Leading Family Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Wedding Destination’ for the second consecutive year by the World Travel Awards, which also named it the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’ for the 14th consecutive year; and the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Destination’ for the 16th consecutive year; as well as the ‘Caribbean’s Best Nature Destination’ and the ‘Caribbean’s Best Adventure Tourism Destination.’

In addition, Jamaica was awarded four gold 2021 Travvy Awards, including ‘Best Destination, Caribbean/Bahamas,’ ‘Best Culinary Destination –Caribbean,’ Best Travel Agent Academy Program,’; as well as a TravelAge West WAVE award for ‘International Tourism Board Providing the Best Travel Advisor Support’ for a record-setting 10th time.

In 2020, the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) named Jamaica the 2020 ‘Destination of the Year for Sustainable Tourism’. In 2019, TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #1 Caribbean Destination and #14 Best Destination in the World. Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions and service providers that continue to receive prominent global recognition.

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