Jamaica generated US$1.46 billion in tourism earnings during the first six months of the 2017 calendar year to record an impressive 7.5 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2016.
More visitors all-around
Additionally, the country welcomed 2,165,330 visitors up to the end of June this year, which was 3.9 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2016. These included 1,186,646 stopover visitors and 978,684 cruise passengers.
This was announced by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet media briefing. He also said that a record 104,098 stopover visitors arrived during the first two weeks of July. This represented a “massive” 14.9 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
Jamaica welcomed 3.84 million visitors last year, which was four per cent more than 2015. Last year’s arrivals included: 2.2 million stopover visitors and 1.66 million cruise passengers.
The tourism minister said that based on the support anticipated for upcoming events, such as the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference in Kingston and Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay, growth for the overall four-month period between April and July will average over 10 per cent.
