Jamaica Villa and Apartment Association (JAVA) president Vana Taylor is hopeful that normalcy will return quickly among its members after some bookings were cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
“We’ve had a few cancellations so far. Hopefully it’ll go back to normal soon. As you can imagine, we’ve had people calling to make sure we’re OK and stuff like that, but it’s early days,” Taylor told Loop News.
She revealed that members in Negril and the South Coast were the most affected by the recent passage of the hurricane.
“We are still getting information, but damage has mainly occurred to villas and apartments in these areas. Some areas still do not have electricity or running water,” she said.
File pole replacement work after Hurricane Beryl.
Despite the recent challenges brought about by the hurricanes, Jamaica’s tourism sector overall has demonstrated great resilience, welcoming more than 105,000 visitors since the ports reopened following the hurricanes. This was announced by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett during his closing presentation to the 2024/2025 Sectoral Debate in Parliament.
“On the second and third of July, we had zero tourists in Jamaica, then by the fourth of July we were open again and I stress again that in just 11 days we had 105,000 visitors stop by. That’s a sign of resilience!” said Mr Bartlett.
Airport arrivals photo file.
He said the rapid recovery was a testament to Jamaica’s well-thought-out disaster management plans and the unwavering spirit of its tourism stakeholders.
The Minister further explained that the significant increase in arrivals was due to visitors attending Reggae Sumfest 2024, currently taking place in Montego Bay, St James.
Bartlett also reiterated the industry’s impressive performance over the past year, with total revenue soaring to US$4.38 billion, up 9.6% year-on-year. This growth was driven by a record 2.96 million stopover passengers, up 9.4% over 2022/2023.
He also stressed that resilience is not limited to shore tourism, with cruise tourism also experiencing a strong recovery, up 16 percent year-on-year, with Jamaica already welcoming nearly 800,000 cruise guests in the first half of 2024.
Edmund Bartlett
“2.4 million tourists have visited the island already this year and we are on track to meet our annual target of 4.3 million,” Mr Bartlett said.
“These figures are more than just numbers. They represent jobs for our citizens, opportunities for businesses and a stronger, more resilient economy for Jamaica. They confirm Jamaica’s position as a premier tourist destination in the Caribbean and underscore the effectiveness of our tourism strategy,” he added.
