Jamaica has seen a large number of tourists visiting the island in 2022 becoming immersed in the country’s sharing experience, most notably the Airbnb accommodation subsector, says Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism.

Last year, 29 per cent of the 2.6 million stopover tourists visiting the island participated in the sharing economy, a socio-economic system whereby consumers partake in the creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services.

The tourism minister, who was addressing the official opening of Bengal Cove Villas in Discovery Bay, St Ann on Saturday (March 18), said that, based on last year’s statistics, this means that more Jamaicans with homes, apartments and villas have been enhancing the local tourism value chain.

“This is broadening, therefore, the range of participants in the industry. But more importantly, providing slices of the pie for a larger number of Jamaican people,” he said.

He noted that, with more locals participating in the sector through the sharing economy, Jamaica’s tourism industry can only experience growth.

He assured that new and existing stakeholders need not worry about the derivable benefits, as the “tourism pie” is ever-expanding and far-reaching.

“So, I want to encourage investment by our locals in this shared economy, because it is a new dimension,” Bartlett stated.

He maintained that “Jamaica is now leading the way in providing new and exciting villa experiences for tourists across the region,” adding that “we are going to be encouraging more and more Jamaicans to participate in this very important subsector in this industry”.

In the meantime, Bartlett said Jamaica has entered an important phase of development, in terms of foreign direct investment in the sector.

He indicated that this was evidenced by the approximately 20,000 new hotel rooms programmed for construction over the next five to 10 years.

The Bengal Cove Villas is a 15-unit luxury mixed-unit development being undertaken at a cost of $1.3 billion.

The units are being offered as investment opportunities for Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora.