Written by Brian Major
Last updated: Friday, May 3, 2024, 2:30 PM ET
Jamaica has recorded nearly double-digit growth in resort and cruise visitors to date in 2024, with government officials forecasting 5 million annual visitors, rather than the five years originally expected. The country is in a position to achieve this within four years, said Edmund Bartlett, the country’s tourism minister.
This year has “started strong,” Bartlett said, with 2.96 million overnight land travelers to date, an increase of 9.4% from 2023. Meanwhile, the number of cruise ship arrivals in 2024 will total 1.34 million, an increase of 9% compared to 2023.
Speaking to Parliament on April 30, Mr Bartlett reflected on the tourism industry’s performance in 2024, saying: “The industry has had a record year, exceeding the expectations of all industry experts.”
“Jamaica is now on track to reach its goal of 5 million visitors within four years, which was expected to take five years,” he said.
Mr Bartlett said 85 per cent of the airline’s 1,523,202 seats to Jamaica were filled during this year’s winter travel season, which ran from January to April, and load factor matched the record set in 2019. That’s what it means.
The increase in visitors to Jamaica was driven by increased airline capacity from the United States, the country’s largest source market, Bartlett added.
“The US accounted for 74% of total arrivals, maintaining a majority stake in the overall market and outperforming 2022 by 16 percentage points,” he said. Meanwhile, Canada grew by an “astonishing” 38.6 per cent in 2023, Bartlett added.
new resort
Mr Bartlett said Jamaica’s resort base is expanding in line with the growth of tourism. The country plans to add 2,000 new hotels this year, including the 753-room Riu Palace Aquarial, scheduled to open on May 4 in the Trelawny area.
Grand Palladium is one of the Jamaican resorts scheduled for expansion later this year. (Photo provided by Brian Major)
In his speech to Parliament, Mr Bartlett said the first 1,000 rooms at the Princess Grand Jamaica on Hanover’s Green Island will open later this month, followed by the 450-room Unico Hotel in Montego Bay next summer. Ta.
Construction start dates and development plans for “thousands more resort rooms” will be announced soon, he added.
These include the 1,000-room expansion of the Grand Palladium in Hanover, the construction of the 1,000-room Viva Wyndham site north of Negril, the new 700-room Secrets Resort, and the 1,100-room Hard Rock Resort in Montego Bay. Includes construction of Rock Hotels Resort.
In addition, Bahia Principe is embarking on a “multifaceted expansion project in St. Ann Parish that will include vacation homes, condos, hotel rooms, a PGA-certified golf course, a fishing village, and housing for tourism workers,” Bartlett said. . It is predicted that 20,000 new resort rooms will be added in this country within 10 to 15 years.
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