Jamaica To Become Logistics Supply Hub For Tourism-Dependent Caribbean Countries

• The Jamaican Government is moving to develop Jamaica as a planning supply hub for the local tourism sector and for other tourism-dependent nations in the region. Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, made the disclosure as he closed the 2022/23 Sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on June 14. 
• The idea of the logistic supply hub for Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands came out of the Tourism Recovery Task Force chaired by Wilfred Baghaloo in 2020 and aims to give Jamaican entities the necessary muscles needed to grow locally, regionally and internationally. 
• As supply chain issues continue to present a challenge for many countries, it is believed that the hub will help to eliminate some of the supply chain uncertainties. The establishment of the supply logistics centre in the free zone is expected to enable the local suppliers to scale up and to be able to respond effectively. 
• This announcement came on the cusp of Jamaica welcoming the first million stop-over visitors for the year on Wednesday (June 15), bringing earnings of US$1.5Bn. Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said that the strong arrival figure is a sign that the industry is on the “cusp of restoring its 2019 levels of arrivals and earnings”, following the disruptions caused by the pandemic. 
• He noted that summer bookings “are pacing ahead of 2019 (pre-pandemic), to be the strongest summer we have ever experienced”. In addition to this, tourism arrivals for 2023 are projected to reach 3.7 million and $3.5Bn in earnings, with 2024 expected to surpass 2019 levels with 4.2 million visitors and $4Bn in revenue. Considering these expectations, the supply hub would help to reduce potential challenges that the sector could face in sourcing goods to meet the rising demand.

(Source: JIS News & Ministry of Tourism)