In order to expand and drive growth within the tourism industry in Jamaica, the Honorable Edmund Bartlett announced that the Ministry of Tourism plans to sign a major partnership agreement with Airbnb, a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world online or from a mobile phone or tablet.
The Minister made the announcement during a meeting with Airbnb executives, at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices saying, “We are very happy to be partnering with Airbnb and know that it will be mutually beneficial to both entities involved. Once drafted, I know that the agreement will take into account our goal of destination assurance, which ensures our credibility in the marketplace. It will also allow us to utilize analytics across their social platforms. This will be a great tool for us to build a better collective resource management platform for our destination,” said Minister Bartlett.
According to Airbnb’s executive with responsibility for Public Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, Shawn Sullivan, the market for Airbnb in Jamaica is rapidly growing and is extremely lucrative. The site currently accounts for 2,300 active hosts and 4,000 active listings in the past year from Jamaica.
