by Brian Major
Last updated: 11:25 AM ET, Thu October 5, 2023
Jamaica’s record-breaking
2023 tourism growth continued in the third quarter as the
Caribbean nation hosted 682,586 overnight, land-based visitors during the period,
a 5.5 percent year-over-year increase, said Jamaica Tourism Board (JTB) officials
in a statement.
“The
economic performance figures for the third quarter of the year show that
Jamaica continues to shine as a premier destination, with significantly
increasing stopover arrivals and earnings,” said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s
tourism minister.
Jamaica is
among several Caribbean nations to report strong post-pandemic visitor arrivals.
The country welcomed its two millionth visitor in June, reflecting a nine
percent increase in land-based and cruise ship arrivals compared with June
2019. JTB officials say the island will host 3.9 million visitors in 2023.
Bartlett
said the period covering July 1 to September 30, 2023, marks the 10th
consecutive quarter “since the COVID-19 pandemic that we have shown significant
growth."
Jamaica’s
tourism earnings continued an “upward trend” during the third quarter, said Bartlett,
totaling “roughly one billion U.S. dollars, representing a substantial 7.3
percent increase over the same period in 2022.”
Bartlett said
Jamaica’s 2023 visitor growth includes a rebound in U.K.-based visitors. “The
U.K. market has continued to outperform other markets outside of the United
States,” he said.
U.K.
traveler growth “continues to outpace the other non-American markets, and
Jamaica now is the number one destination in the Caribbean for U.K. visitors,” added Bartlett.
Canada will
also be a key visitor source going forward, Bartlett said. “We're excited about
Canada and the prospects for improved growth,” adding he expects Canada
to generate 500,000 visitors for Jamaica by 2025.
Visitor growth
from Canada “will be driven by some new demographics emerging from the
Asian-Canadian and luxury markets,” Bartlett concluded.
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