Jamaica’s tourism recovery continues to gain pace

Jamaica’s tourism product is seemingly on the mend after having had to navigate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country’s finances are highly dependent on the earnings from the industry which prior to the pandemic was contributing upwards of 28% of the nation’s GDP. According to Statista, that fell to just over ten percent in 2020 where the country had to close its borders as the pandemic took root and steps had to be taken to control the spread of the virus that has recorded millions of deaths so far.

However it seems that the tourism product is now turning the proverbial corner as more and more visitors descend on the tropical destination for purposes of relaxation and other purposes. According to the Ministry of Tourism from Friday, Dec 17th to Sunday, Dec 19th 2021, some 25,000 passengers made their way through the Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay.

Recently Director of Tourism Donovan White had hinted that come at the end of 2021, the country was projecting to close to two million tourists coming into the island.

Recently Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett remarked on the rebound of the local tourism industry that it now stands at 50% of pre COVID levels. “We are proud to be commanding the confidence of major players in the global tourism industry, we have a first-class tourism product which is rebounding nicely and even though we are at 50% at this stage in terms of the rebound, bear in mind that the rebound started in June of 2020 and so in one year and six months, Jamaica’s tourism has rebounded by 50% of what it was in 2019” the Minister is quoted as saying.

The Minister also highlighted that there are more investment set to come on stream in short order. “As I have previously indicated, despite the pandemic setback 90% of the planned investments are still on target. New and existing investors are set to spend close to 2 billion US to add new rooms to Jamaica’s tourism product over the next two years which will result in an addition of 7000 new rooms and more than 20,000 direct and new part time and full-time jobs” he had remarked.

In terms of investments that have come on stream since, in December H10 Resorts opened its new adults only, Ocean Eden Bay, facility in Trelawny. This was followed shortly by Sandals opening a new wing at the Sandals Royal in Montego Bay dubbed High Grove. Incidentally the opening of the Ocean Eden Bay is the first such opening in Jamaica since the slowdown brought on by the pandemic.

However it would only be fair to say that there are still challenging times ahead as new variants of the coronavirus make travel a tricky fixture. However it seems that Jamaica has been holding its own as more visitors choose the tropical paradise for their next vacation.