Jamaica Reports Strong Visitor Numbers

by Brian Major
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Sat February 22, 2025

This article originally appeared in the February issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.

Jamaica’s exceptional natural beauty extends across an expansive landscape filled with beautiful beaches, languid inland rivers, rushing waterfalls and soaring green hillsides, environments that evoke the romantic experiences about which travelers dream.

The country’s inspiring scenery, combined with a distinctive island culture expressed in everything from music to cuisine, lure travelers from around the world, and is particularly attractive to U.S.-based travelers. Following several years of growing visitor arrivals, Jamaica reported one of its strongest-ever periods in 2024.

The Caribbean nation hosted 2.20 million overnight, land-based visitors between January and September 2024, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data. Although the total represents a less than 1 percent increase over 2023, Jamaica’s popularity among American travelers endured despite significant headwinds, including U.S. travel advisories, Hurricane Beryl and “tightness in relation to airlift,” in the words of Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister.

Indeed, Jamaica also proved popular with cruisers in 2024. The country reported 1.43 million passengers arrived in Jamaica aboard cruise ships, up from 1.26 million in 2023. An estimated 1.16 million passengers disembarked ships to visit in 2024.

More Airlift, New Hotels

The county’s air capacity will grow to 1.6 million seats during the winter season, said Bartlett, with 178,000 more seats representing double-digit capacity growth over 2023. “This is going to be the best winter season on record,” he said.

The increase will serve Jamaica’s expanding hospitality base, with 8,000 new hotel and resort rooms scheduled for construction over the next five years, according to Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) officials.

Recently opened properties include the 260-room Sandals Dunn’s River, which debuted in Ocho Rios in May, and the Princess Senses The Mangrove and Princess Grand Jamaica, which launched last fall.

Also slated to open in the coming years is a 450-room UNICO Hotel in Montego Bay and properties from Hard Rock, Bahia Principe and Viva Wyndham, plus expansions to existing resorts including Grand Palladium and Moon Palace.

The Cultural Landscape

However, travelers who choose to experience Jamaica are invariably drawn by not only the island’s singular beauty, but its distinguishing culture found in musical forms from reggae to calypso to dancehall, in cuisine spiced with flavorful, indigenous ingredients and in the welcoming spirit that defines the Jamaican character.

These cultural elements continue to place Jamaica at the forefront of popularity among U.S. travelers, said Philip Rose, the JTB’s deputy director of tourism. However, the role Jamaica’s citizenry – from industry professionals to local residents with tangential links to tourism – is critical to the country's tourism industry, he said.

The Role Local’s Play

“It’s no secret that tourism, certainly in Jamaica but overall, is so much more than just an opportunity for visitors get a suntan and have one more ‘dirty banana’ at one of our numerous resorts,” Rose said.

“Beautiful sunsets and scenes have become synonymous with travel to Jamaica, but behind it all is the impact that it has had not only on the lives of our visitors, but more importantly for me, on the lives of our locals. I grew up in this industry and worked in every department except for watersports, and one thing I learned is that the tourism industry is a haven.”

“Time and time again when visitors come to Jamaica and then leave, we ask them what the number one thing [they enjoyed] about Jamaica was,” Rose added. “They don’t [mention] the luxurious rooms or the opulent environments within the hotels. They talk about the people of Jamaica.”

Authentic Character

In addition to its people, Jamaica’s popularity derives from its proliferation of experiences that travelers find to be authentic and beyond the norm. The country’s diverse activities enable visitors to explore indigenous communities, sample local cuisine and partake in adventure-themed activities.

“As marketers and salespeople, we started watching closely what the global trends were,” Rose said. “We know travelers want authenticity. Because of our commitment to organic evolution, we are arguably the most authentic destination you can find. We are unapologetically authentic.”

Travel Advisor Advocacy

Integral to Jamaica’s success as a Caribbean tourism destination has been its Jamaica Specialist Program. Launched in February 2012, the program maintains a database of more than 52,000 travel advisors, including nearly 40,000 graduates.

“We made a decision, long before me, to work closely with our travel advisors. They’re critical to this industry and to our growth,” said Rose.

“Jamaica is such a diverse destination,” he said. “Travel advisors, especially the ones that are members of the Jamaica Travel Specialist program, will take the time to find out what the client wants.”

“They play the role of matchmaker; and they’re going to curate the perfect experience for clients,” he continued.

“This system has contributed greatly to Jamaica having such a high repeat business. Sometimes I grow tired of saying it, but it’s so true: There is a Jamaica for everyone and the path to finding yours is through travel advisors,” he said.

“I’d like to thank the travel advisors and ask them to be as committed to the partnership with Jamaica as Jamaica has shown our commitment to them throughout the years.

“We do have a tremendous amount of rooms coming on. That means we will have more airline seats, which means we will need to put more travelers in those seats. I’m asking the travel advisors to think of us first.”

Jamaica Fam Visits

The Jamaica Specialist program provides advisors with firsthand knowledge of the country through familiarization visits.

“We deploy a lot of time and resources in advisor training and bringing them down to the island to experience it,” said the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) Philip Rose.

“There are some travel advisors who know many of the resorts more than I do. That came out of a deliberate decision by the JTB to keep the knowledge base high.”

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