by Brian Major
Last updated: 12:25 PM ET, Wed July 31, 2024
The U.S. State Department last week updated its advisory on
travel to Jamaica, continuing to list the Caribbean nation under a Level 3 advisory but adding the proviso, “tourist areas
generally see lower rates of violent crime than other parts of the country.”
The advisory also removed previous language that stated sexual
assaults occur “frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts.” The revamped phrasing
states the U.S. Embassy “routinely receives reports of sexual assaults,
including from U.S. citizen tourists at resorts.”
The advisory also urges visitors to “obtain traveler’s
insurance” including medical evacuation insurance prior to departing. Medical
services do not provide “the same level of health care as is available in the
United States,” the updated advisory states.
After the State Department re-issued the Level 3 advisory
in January, urging U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel” to Jamaica due to high
crime rates and limited access to quality healthcare, Edmund Bartlett Jamaica
tourism minister, noted, “The Level 3 advisory for Jamaica is not new and has
been in effect since early 2022.”
Said Bartlett, “Since that time, Jamaica has welcomed
millions of visitors and continues to be one of the most popular destinations
in the world. He said crime involving visitors “is extremely low at 0.01
percent.”
The Jamaican government maintains a special unit within the
Jamaica Constabulary Force to handle incidents concerning non-residents,
Bartlett added.
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