Delano Seiveright, the Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism lauded the remarkable progress achieved through collaborative efforts spearheaded by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and his team over the past three years.
This success story unfolds as Jamaica prepares for a flurry of new and inaugural nonstop flights set to take wing in December, building upon a series of recent additions to its ever-expanding flight network.
An influx of new nonstop flights on the horizon
These arrivals are set to complement a series of other recent nonstop flight introductions. Among the upcoming flights are:
- London to Montego Bay: Commencing from December 1, the new European airline, Norse Atlantic Airways, will initiate nonstop flights connecting London, United Kingdom, and Montego Bay in St. James.
- Toronto to Montego Bay: Canadian airline, Jetlines, is set to launch nonstop flights between Toronto, Canada, and Montego Bay starting from December 9.
- Toronto to Kingston: Canadian airline, Flair, will introduce nonstop flights between Toronto, Canada, and Kingston, Jamaica, commencing on December 16.
This influx of new flight routes reflects Jamaica’s growing popularity as a tourist destination.
Continued momentum in the air travel sector
Highlighting the dynamic growth in air travel to Jamaica, Seiveright also pointed out that these new flights come on the heels of recent launches. Notable additions to Jamaica’s air connectivity include:
- Kansas City to Montego Bay: Southwest Airlines initiated nonstop flights between Kansas City, Missouri, United States, and Montego Bay.
- Denver to Montego Bay: United Airlines unveiled nonstop flights between Denver, Colorado, United States, and Montego Bay.
Impressive tourism figures for 2023
Seiveright further shared encouraging tourism statistics, emphasizing the sector’s resilience and robust performance. Preliminary data for the year from January to November 29 indicates that approximately 2.5 million stopover visitors have graced Jamaica’s shores.
This figure represents an 18 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022 and a 10 per cent increase over the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
Reports are that ff Jamaica continues on this growth trajectory, the country will be on track to meet the new projections of four million visitors and foreign exchange earnings of US$4.1 billion by year end.
