Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has revealed that approximately 40 per cent of the $4.38 billion earned by the tourism sector in the 2023-2024 financial year remained within Jamaica’s economy.
Speaking at a post-cabinet press conference at Jamaica House yesterday, Mr Bartlett explained that a portion of the revenue generated in this area is being reinvested into operating costs.
“That means the cost of bringing tourists here because you have to bring the product in first, the airlines, the marketing arrangements, the advertising, and the capital expenditures that have been made to build the facilities and infrastructure here. The problem…all this has to be paid for from outside,” he said.
Additionally, Bartlett emphasized that costs borne by tour operators and travel agents contribute to the calculation of tourism revenue.
“Once that’s done, we now have to deal with domestic costs, including taxes. And yesterday, I indicated that $53 billion of direct taxes would go into a consolation fund.” said. “Additionally, there are operational costs such as transportation, entertainment, and necessary utilities, all of which must be borne locally.”
– Advertisement –
Mr. Bartlett observed that Jamaica imports many goods used in the tourism industry and stressed that increased local investment could lead to greater revenue retention.
“The less we import, the more money we have left over, so we need to invest more on the supply side so that the 40 cents sitting here becomes 50 or 60 cents,” he said.
All Jamaicans can benefit
Bartlett revealed that gross profit for 2023-2024 increased by 9.6% compared to the previous financial year. The number of stopover arrivals, estimated at 2.96 million, also increased by 9.4%.
– Advertisement –
Highlighting the transformative potential of tourism, Mr. Bartlett stressed that all Jamaicans can benefit from the sector.
“The image that tourism has had for so long is that it belongs to the greats. We want to erase that image once and for all because it’s not true. There is no industry that does more and offers more opportunities to the smallest people with the fewest ideas, the smallest people with the fewest ideas, the smallest people with the least ideas, the ones who make the stupidest ideas. And then very quickly you’re driving a car, sending your kids to school, building a house. I’ve seen that happen,” he said.
