A robust, lucrative winter tourism season for Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett noted that the island is expected to have a significant rise in its tourism sector, underscoring that this will be a robust winter tourism season for Jamaica. 

The island is expecting more than 1.6 million visitors during this tourism season which commenced on December 15, earning over US$2 billion. 

The Minister asserted, “I am pleased to inform you all that our research shows that Jamaica will have a strong and lucrative winter tourist season. I am incredibly grateful that despite the challenges placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, our tourism industry is showing rapid signs of recovery”. 

“Hotels and attractions have reopened, most of our tourism workers are back on the job, and visitor arrivals continue to surge,” he added. 

As per the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), there will be a 65% average occupancy in hotels. This will eventually assist in boosting the economy of CARICOM member states which has been severely impacted by the ongoing COVID outbreak. 

“This turnaround would not have been possible without the united approach taken by our committed tourism stakeholders, both within the public & private sectors. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to our dedicated frontline workers, hoteliers, ground transportation providers, craft vendors, attractions and airport workers, and the many others who have contributed to tourism’s recovery”. 

Barlett then highlighted the hard work done by the Jamaican government and the several stakeholders, including from the private and public sectors, stating, “we all have worked tirelessly to get tourism back on track”. 

He then added that the ministry is having a target to bring five million visitors, five billion dollars in earnings and five thousand new rooms by the year 2025. 

“Our approach to shift our focus away from head-on competition and instead redraw industry boundaries and operate within that new space will help us to meet our growth targets, ” the Minister concluded.