As the destination continues its strong tourism recovery, Jamaica has welcomed over 2 million stopover arrivals for 2022 as of October in line with previous projections.
“It is truly gratifying to see our arrivals numbers returning to growth in recent months,” said Minister of Tourism, Jamaica, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett. “Having posted our best summer ever on record in 2022 and with arrivals now pacing well through fall, it is a clear demonstration that Jamaica’s tourism sector is indeed resilient and has a lasting appeal among consumers. While we are a small nation compared to many others in the world, our naturally beautiful landscape, unique culture, and variety of attractions and accommodations keep Jamaica at the top of travelers’ preferred places to visit.”
“We are extremely pleased to be among the destinations leading the world in tourism recovery,” added Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board, Donovan White. “Since reopening in June 2020, we have been making a strong marketing push to ensure that Jamaica remains top of mind among our traditional and emerging source markets. Reaching this new milestone for 2022 is a testament to the success of our efforts and excellent relationships with our travel industry partners.”
For full year 2022, Jamaica is projecting that it will welcome over 3 million stopover arrivals and receive total earnings from tourism of over USD $3.7 billion. The destination is also expected to return to 2019 pre-Covid arrivals levels in 2023 and remains on track to welcome 5 million visitors by 2025.
To further support the tourism sector’s recovery, both Minister Bartlett and Director White visited New York from November 2-4 to officially launch the island’s new ‘Come Back’ advertising campaign via a series of television appearances, media appointments, meetings, and more encouraging people to come back to their best selves in Jamaica.
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are also located in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris.
In 2021, the JTB was declared ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination,’ ‘World’s Leading Family Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Wedding Destination’ for the second consecutive year by the World Travel Awards, which also named it the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’ for the 14th consecutive year; and the ‘Caribbean’s Leading Destination’ for the 16th consecutive year; as well as the ‘Caribbean’s Best Nature Destination’ and the ‘Caribbean’s Best Adventure Tourism Destination.’ In addition, Jamaica was awarded four gold 2021 Travvy Awards, including ‘Best Destination, Caribbean/Bahamas,’ ‘Best Culinary Destination –Caribbean,’ Best Travel Agent Academy Program,’; as well as a TravelAge West WAVE award for ‘International Tourism Board Providing the Best Travel Advisor Support’ for a record-setting 10th time. In 2020, the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) named Jamaica the 2020 ‘Destination of the Year for Sustainable Tourism’. In 2019, TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #1 Caribbean Destination and #14 Best Destination in the World. Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions and service providers that continue to receive prominent global recognition.
Photo – Deposit Photos