Jamaica receives 1 million visitors so far this year

Jamaica have received over one million visitors by the end of May 2022. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett called it an indication that the tourism industry is quickly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said according to the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), the tourism sector is proving its resilience, and a return to pre-pandemic levels is on the horizon.

"We crossed the one million visitor threshold for the year at the end of May, and we're on track to meet our 2022 predictions of 3.2 million total tourist arrivals and US$3.3 billion in total revenue," Bartlett said.

He was speaking in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate ended.

Minister said that the data for arrivals at the end of May included both cruise passengers and stopover passengers.

"A positive outlook for the future, we must build the framework for a robust rebound if we hope to maintain this good momentum if we intend to reach our 2024 predictions of 4.5 million visitor visits and US$4.7 billion in gross foreign currency revenues," Bartlett added.

"As the tourism industry continues to drive Jamaica's post-COVID-19 economic recovery," the minister stated, "we are already witnessing encouraging signs of revival."

According to the latest economic performance update from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), "actual value added for hotels and restaurants climbed by an estimated 105.7 percent" from January to March.

"In light of the easing of previously enforced COVID-19 containment rules," added Bartlett, "the PIOJ also emphasised that the industry continues to benefit from greater travel."

In comparison to the same period last year, preliminary data showed that stopover arrivals grew by 230.1 percent to 475,805 people, while cruise passenger arrivals totalled 99,798. Besides this, as per the PIOJ data, total tourist expenditure grew to US$485.6 million in January to February 2022, compared to US$169.2 million in the same period in 2021.