Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says the island’s tourism recovery is ahead of schedule and only slightly behind 2019 levels.
Speaking at a town hall in Priory, St Ann on Sunday, Bartlett noted that the industry is recovering faster than expected.
“We projected that we would recover to 2019 levels by 2023/24. We had a mid-year review in Ocho Rios this [past] weekend and I am very pleased to tell you that, to date, we have [had] 1.7 million visitors and they have spent just a little under US$3 billion,” he disclosed at the meeting hosted by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).
Bartlett said based on the outturns for the year to date, “we are… trending 90 per cent against 2019.”
He further pointed out: “When you look at what we are doing… you will see that in 2019, we earned US$3.6 billion for the entire year, and we have [only] gone eight months [in this year] and we are now at the edge of US$3 billion”.
According to predictions for 2022, visitors will spend more than $4 billion, “which would easily be a 15 percent to 20 percent increase from 2019.”
Bartlett attributed the “main attractions” and reason for visitors’ spending on the island to the Jamaican people.
“You, the people, are the most iconic attraction; it’s you why the tourists come [here]. You hone the experience that they consume; so, all the money that they spend, you are the reason they spend it,” he said.
The town hall meeting was held to discuss Priory Beach construction projects.
It is one of the beaches being developed across Jamaica as part of the TEF’s Beaches Development Program.
Mr. Bartlett informed stakeholders that the facility will create another opportunity for more money to be spent by visitors to the area, adding that the development of Priory Beach also aims to preserve and build green spaces.
TEF Executive Director, Dr. Carey Wallace was present at the meeting in addition to the in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service and member of parliament for St. Ann Northeastern, Marsha Smith, Mayor of St. Ann’s Bay, Sydney Stewart, and other senior officials.
The meeting was the TEF’s second face-to-face consultation with stakeholders in the area, following a town hall meeting in December 2021.
