Jamaica expects earnings of US$3.6 billion from Tourism

The Government is projecting gross earnings of US$3.6 billion from the tourism industry for the 2019/20 fiscal year.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, told the Standing Finance Committee of the House on March 4, that the country is expected to have some 4.584 million visitors for the financial year, with stopover arrivals at 2.875 million and cruise arrivals of 1.709 million.

“Gross earnings for 2018/19 (fiscal year] are projected at US$3.334 billion, an 8.8 per cent increase over the fiscal year 2017/18, with stopover arrivals of 2.713 million, a 6.2 per cent increase, and cruise arrivals of 1.803 million, an 8.2 per cent decline, over the previous period,” Mr Bartlett said.

Meanwhile, Mr Bartlett noted that a number of business development projects will be rolled out during the upcoming fiscal year, geared at capacity building for the small and medium-sized tourism enterprise owners.

“We have some very exciting and innovative programmes that we are going to introduce… . With regard to how to get a number of small and medium tourism enterprises to become a big part of the supply chain and to earn more,” the Minister said.

Mr Bartlett said focus will be placed on barbers, small hairdressers, amongst others, to bring them “up to standard, so that the visitor can move across the hotel to over there and to leave the dollar in the destination”.