by Brian Major
Last updated: 11:57 AM ET, Tue January 23, 2018
Local crime concerns led Jamaica's prime minister Andrew Holness to declare a state of emergency last week.
Yet, that announcement may soon be considered an ironic subtext in what is shaping up as the most successful tourism period in the island nation's history.
Jamaica hosted 4.3 million visitors in 2017 according to provisional data from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), with 2,353,461 land-based, overnight visitors and 1,946,780 cruise ship arrivals.
The total marked the first time Jamaica has hosted as many as four million travelers in one year, said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica's minister of tourism, and represents an impressive 12.1 percent year-over-year vault over Jamaica's 2016 arrivals, doubling JTB's initial forecast.
Jamaica joins the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic as the only country tracked by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) to exceed four million travelers. "[This is] the first time that…we brought more than 500,000 additional visitors in a single calendar year," Bartlett added.
The country's latest tourism milestone has been unfortunately overshadowed by last week's emergency declaration, authorizing the implementation of "increased security measures" to curb "crime and violence" in St. James Parish, which includes the Montego Bay tourist district.
"Several stakeholders, including those in the tourism industry, have written to me to say that they would support the necessary actions to bring the parish of St. James under control and restore public safety," said Holness.
The safety measures have the support of Jamaica's tourism stakeholders, said Bartlett. "These enhanced security measures are not out of the ordinary in international tourism markets, and therefore would be understood by visitors and welcomed by residents," he said.
"All members of the tourism fraternity have given their full support to the measure and are feeling that these actions are welcome to ensure the safety of Jamaica's guests and citizens."
While Jamaica's tourism sector has historically struggled with issues related to local criminal activity and occasional visitor harassment, travelers are rarely impacted. The country's surging visitor numbers suggest North American vacationers-who comprise the majority of Jamaica visitors-continue to regard the country among the top Caribbean destinations.
Several Caribbean destinations reported strong arrivals growth in 2017, and Jamaica was a prominent part of the trend as the country's tourism segment grew on land, sea and in the air. Jamaica's overnight sector continued its recent growth track with new and expanded properties from major brands including Palace Resorts, Riu Hotels & Resorts and Sandals Resorts International.
Major airline links to Jamaica are also expanding, and the island has developed into regional cruise industry hub with major ports in Falmouth, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios all attracting sustained cruise ship traffic.
Jamaica is also emerging as fertile ground for home-stay marketers, as travelers increasingly seek hospitality options that offer "authentic experiences." Bartlett said 55,000 Jamaica visitors booked Airbnb accommodations last year, up from 35,000 in 2016.
"That means that we have added over 20,000 new visitors with a different type of demand for experiences in our space," he added.
"These visitors are not necessarily staying in hotels. They want to immerse themselves in local culture-the food, music, people and communities-and I believe Jamaica is a natural attractor with its rich heritage."
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