JHTA says US election will impacts tourist arrivals
Key Points(5)
- The US presidential election in November is being cited among factors responsible for the flat performance seen for Jamaica’s tourism sector, which has in the last few months witnessed slower growth.
- The presidential election slated for November 5, 2024 is to see a run-off between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump from the Republican camp as they vie for occupancy of the White House.
- The US market, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of visitors coming to Jamaica last year as a result of the more than 2.1 million in stopover arrivals from that country, benefited from a 15.2 per cent increase in visitors when compared to the previous year.
- Welcoming over 4 million tourists last year, the sector is looking to surpass this number in 2024, especially as it pushes to realize the triple five objective which seeks to achieve US$5 billion in earnings, five million tourist arrivals over a targeted five-year period ending in 2025.
- The JHTA head, in noting that while growth seen over the last few quarters may not have been at the desired level, said the sector remains grateful to have kept arrivals at a moderate degree.
The US presidential election in November is being cited among factors responsible for the flat performance seen for Jamaica’s tourism sector, which has in the last few months witnessed slower growth.
Coupled with other impacts from Hurricane Beryl, which rattled parts of the island’s south coast in July, and previous travel advisories from the White House which cautioned US citizens against visits to local shores, output from the ‘bread and butter’ industry barely increased in the April to June quarter after value added from the usually dominant hotels and restaurants sector grew by only a meagre 0.1 per cent, based on estimates provided by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) last week.
“We did have some fallout from the hurricane and earlier from a negative travel advisory, which was
somewhat updated later; however, the sector’s current performance, it is important to note that we have always had some fallout when presidential elections are expected in the US, which is one of our biggest markets. What we have seen is that whenever there is any form of uncertainty in that market, especially during periods such as elections or a recession, this tends to impact tourism, bringing about a fall in the usual activities,” president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Robin Russell said in his assessment of the sector’s performance and output during an interview on Monday.
The presidential election slated for November 5, 2024 is to see a run-off between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump from the Republican camp as they vie for occupancy of the White House.
The impact of an election year, which global analysts believes can truly influence tourism activities, they say, stems from trends which shows some travelers opting to delay their travel plans until after a poll, as they seek to instead conserve on funds while observing how political changes may affect things such as currency exchange rates, economic conditions, or even international relations.
The US market, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of visitors coming to Jamaica last year as a result of the more than 2.1 million in stopover arrivals from that country, benefited from a 15.2 per cent increase in visitors when compared to the previous year. Welcoming over 4 million tourists last year, the sector is looking to surpass this number in 2024, especially as it pushes to realize the triple five objective which seeks to achieve US$5 billion in earnings, five million tourist arrivals over a targeted five-year period ending in 2025.
The JHTA head, in noting that while growth seen over the last few quarters may not have been at the desired level, said the sector remains grateful to have kept arrivals at a moderate degree.
“We have not seen the growth we would have wanted, but what I would say is that we still have the same arrival as 2023, which is also still above that for our 2019 benchmark year. Considering that we’re now seeing about a one per cent decline when the impacts from Beryl and some other factors are added, this means we have managed to remain at the same level, so we are not overly alarmed,” Russell said.
