KINGSTON, Jamaica –Jamaica is anticipating an increase in visitor arrivals as it gears to participate in the World Travel Market to be held in London in November.
Tourism Minister Ed BartlettTourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, said Jamaica will be making several “key presentations” at the international travel event, which is being held for the first time since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“These presentations Jamaica will be making will be in the largest and most important forum in tourism,” Bartlett said, adding “there will be a mix of face-to-face and some level of virtual, but Jamaica’s presence at the World Travel Market this year is being enhanced by the huge call on us for thought leadership activities”.
Bartlett said Jamaica’s participation at the event will be made that much stronger given the UK’s recent announcement to lift the travel advisory against all non-essential travel to the country.
“So, we are excited about getting back the full air arrangements and air connectivity out of the UK and, by extension, out of Europe. The importance of this, in general, is significant for our European program, and what it also does is strengthen our marketing plan.
“So, we are anticipating that when we complete the London program to have tidied up all of our plans for the winter tourist season,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bartlett, says the world’s largest travel tourism company, TUI, is to facilitate the travel of an estimated 2,000 passengers from the UK and surrounding region to Jamaica this October.
“Finally, Jamaica is now in the green, and so from taking Jamaica from the list of restricted countries to visit, it means that next weekend one company named TUI is going to start with 2,000 passengers into the country. So, we will be looking at something close to 100,000 room nights because of this one entity coming,” Bartlett said.
He said that the lift of travel advisory is a welcome relief, as the UK and Europe are among Jamaica’s largest tourism contributors. He said the advisory had even threatened plans for the resumption of homeporting for the AIDA Cruises in Montego Bay for November.
“Now that it is released, we are comforted by the fact that AIDA Cruises will resume homeporting in Montego Bay.
“Homeporting means supply-chain arrangements and Montego Bay entrepreneurs will have a chance to supply again on the needs of those cruise ships coming. Then the hotels will benefit from the overnight stay of people who come in and, of course, airport with the traffic,” he added.
Bartlett also noted that Jamaica’s tourism sector is now poised to enjoy some 82 per cent of 2019’s traffic coming out of Canada.
“Also, out of the US, Expedia is telling us that we are pacing second only to Mexico in the world, and Southwest and American Airlines are all similarly referencing Jamaica among the higher-pacing destinations for the winter,” he said.
