Island enjoys biggest seven-day cumulative arrivals since reopening of border

Jamaica’s tourism is benefiting from the uptick in visitor arrivals over the current holiday season.

In the week just gone, the country reported its highest seven-day cumulative arrival figures since Jamaica reopened its borders on June 15. The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) reports that preliminary data for the week of December 22-28 shows that the island received just over 21,000 passengers, which is the biggest visitor arrivals in one week since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a bulletin, the JTB also reported that both international airports received a total of 21,044 visitors. Some 16,841 passengers arrived at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay while the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston welcomed 4,203 passengers.

Jamaica registers big jump in December over previous month

From December 1-28, Jamaica welcomed over 98,000 visitors, which represents an increase of more than 30,000 compared to the previous month of November. As customary, the Sangster International Airport, which is Jamaica’s airport hub, accounted for the majority of arrivals.

The data from the JTB showed that between June 15 and December 28, a total of 376,044 passengers arrived on the island. Commenting on this positive trend, Director of Tourism, Donovan While emphasised that this is welcome news for the industry.

He argued that the uptick in visitor arrivals augers well for the industry, noting that the expectation is that Jamaica will close the year on a positive note. According to the tourism director, “the Christmas holidays provided the destination a well-needed boost, which we hope will be an indicator of what we can expect in the New Year”.

Tourism stakeholders encouraged to remain positive

He is encouraging all stakeholders to remain positive and believe that the air seats secured for Winter 2020-2021 will further bolster tourism recovery efforts now under way. As part of these efforts, the JTB recently announced tourism sales and marketing strategies that will deliver on the Destination Assurance promise of a safe, secure and seamless visit.

The Destination Assurance promise prioritises health and safety, while positioning Jamaica as the premiere holiday choice for GEN-C, the generation that transcends demographics and reflects the shared psychographic of living through the pandemic.

For his part Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett expressed confidence that the local tourism industry is in fact rebounding. He pointed to the positive responses from the American media, which reported that American visitors are insisting their preference for vacationing in Jamaica.

This, he argued is based on the fact that they consider Jamaica safer because of the process of testing currently involved in allowing visitors to stay in the island and “escape the cold” and the coronavirus threat.