More Than One Million Stopover Visitors Since January

• Jamaica has welcomed 1,117,137 stopover visitors since the start of the year, and has generated over US$1.5Bn in earnings as the industry continues to show very strong recovery from the fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said the industry’s gradual recovery has remained on track because the ministry continues to expand its market footprints. 
• Critical to this, he informed, has been the move to explore and tap into emerging markets “where the economies are growing and doing better and where the affordability levels are higher” rather than relying on traditional locations, such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Among the emerging markets, are the Middle East and several countries in Africa. 
• There are also consultations taking place with the Saudia (formerly Saudia Arabian Airlines), Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, the Emirates Airlines, and the Royal Jordanian Airlines as well as the prospect for collaborations with South African Airways and airlines in Nigeria with hopes of enabling connectivity to Jamaica’s airspace. 
• The ministry is projecting 3.3Mn visitor arrivals and earnings of approximately US$4Bn by the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year. This will continue to support real GDP growth in 2022 with the sector already reporting a 107% increase in Q1 2022, which contributed to the 6.4% overall growth in the economy.

(Source: JIS News)