Jamaica is expected to generate around US$1.5 billion in earnings from some one million visitor arrivals by the end of August as the sector continues to rebound from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The projections were announced by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett as he addressed the digital opening of the seventh staging of the ‘Christmas in July’ trade show at held Thursday (July 22) at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Bartlett noted that the overall figure for the period exceeds 800,000, when coupled with general passenger arrivals and is set to reach the one million mark over the next several weeks.

Earlier this month, the tourism minister had indicated that the overall figures for 2021 were expected to grow to around 1.8 million.

Bartlett on Thursday maintained that the current and projected out-turns are testament to the sector’s resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that “no other industry could do that in seven months… [but] the tourism industry has”.

He also noted that more than 50,000 tourism industry workers have been reinstated in jobs over the last six months as the sector has bounced back and grown faster than several other areas of Jamaica’s economy.

Discussing building capacity for local suppliers, Bartlett said: “As we recover, we need to recover together and recover stronger. We need to recoup much of the losses we had before the pandemic because before the pandemic we had a leakage situation of US dollars from the industry of some 60 cents. We had reached the level of 40 cents retention.” 

The tourism minister said Jamaica must move beyond 40 cents to a 50 cents retention rate, noting that “the pandemic has given us this opportunity because we are starting from ground zero so we can recover together”.

He said suppliers, manufacturers, farmers and producers of cultural products will have the chance to develop together as the industry returns. 

“The demand would be a fraction of what it was in 2019 when we had 4.3 million visitors, when the demand required a level of production that the country couldn’t afford to have. We didn’t have the capacity. The good news is that we can grow capacity with this present level of recovery so that more of the goods that the industry needs can be sourced locally from our manufacturers, our farmers and our suppliers,” he explained.

Bartlett said Christmas in July is part of that response as it provides the opportunity for more local producers to showcase their output.

This year, some 150 local producers of authentic Jamaican gift and souvenir items displayed their products to corporate entities and various industry players at the annual trade show. All products on display had to be made with materials sourced locally, proven to be at least 70 per cent locally manufactured or assembled, highlighting strong Jamaican cultural influences and themes.

Activities for this year’s virtual staging also included a ‘Style Jamaica Pop Up Fashion Show’ which featured jewellery, bags and accessories made by local artisans.

Christmas in July is a collaborative effort of the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, and its partners: the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Jamaica Promotions Corporation, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.