Jamaica records more than two million visitor arrivals

Jamaica recorded 2.34 million visitor arrivals and generated US$2.5 billion (approximately J$394.03 billion) in earnings as at August 31, despite operating with a reduced room stock following the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October.

“This is 17 per cent less than last year, to date, in terms of arrivals and 18 per cent down in terms of revenue,” said Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. Nonetheless, he said the performance was “satisfying”, given the challenges currently confronting the sector. Bartlett was speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank yesterday, which focused on Tourism Awareness Week, slated for September 27 to October 3.

Bartlett noted that approximately 70 per cent of the country’s room stock is currently available.

“What we’re seeing also is that this 30 per cent represents some of the most demanding rooms inventory in the country… and they are coming back, but not until the end of the year to [the] first quarter [of next year],” he said. He noted that, against this backdrop, the level of visitor arrivals underscores the continued strength of demand for Jamaica as a tourism destination. He further indicated that the sustained demand has helped Jamaica maintain strong partnerships with its airline carriers, although airlift capacity has not yet fully recovered to pre-Hurricane Melissa levels.

“They are not able to give us the level of airlift that we had pre-Melissa, but they are able to keep the routes going… and the good news is that they are flying full on every occasion,” Bartlett indicated.

Turning to concerns about airfares, Bartlett noted that challenges within the global aviation industry, including ongoing supply-chain constraints, have contributed to higher ticket prices.

“The absence of the technologies to deliver at the pace required has been a big reason for the high rates that we are experiencing in terms of airfares,” he informed. Bartlett cautioned against using individual airfare quotations to make general assessments about the cost of travelling to Jamaica, explaining that airline pricing is complex.

“The fact is that airfares are structured in a very peculiar way, and sometimes the figure that is quoted as the last figure is not the average price that is paid for the seat,” he explained.