According to a survey by Virtuoso, the world’s top luxury travel advisor, Jamaica is one of the favorite destinations for wealthy travelers. The survey, which was published on the “Personal Finance” segment on CNBC, found that rich and famous visitors, including Drake, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Steve Harvey, are attracted to the island nation. This represents a major coup for the country’s tourism marketing efforts to promote Jamaica as a luxury destination.
Delano Seiveright, a senior communications strategist in Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism, said the agency was glad to see that the country remains in the forefront of the minds of visitors worldwide who want to travel. He particularly welcomed the fact that many affluent Americans are eager to visit Jamaica. He noted that Jamaica has over 150,000 people directly employed in the tourism sector, and many thousands of Jamaicans are linked to tourism work. These workers have suffered a significant loss of income and jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which has limited travel around the world. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Selveright said, “We have billions of dollars in revenue that is just not coming in, and have markets for foreign exchange that the country needs to function on, that is inactive. The fact is that we have to move towards reopening whilst, of course, taking special note of the public health considerations that are absolutely important or the people of Jamaica.”
Jamaica is moving toward re-opening now, however, and is taking steps to ensure safe and healthy conditions for its visitors and workers. The nation’s Tourism Ministry has developed a five-point recovery program that includes public health considerations and a standard approach to re-opening the island as a tourist destination.
The other countries favored by richer travelers include Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; St Martin, French West Indies; Tanzania; Los Angeles, United States; Maui, Hawaii; Nairobi, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Information and Photo Source: Obi Onyeador on Unsplash, Virtuoso
