With a record winter tourist season on the horizon, Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has announced that the island is set to eclipse its growth projections for visitor arrivals and tourism earnings for 2023, based on the robust growth trajectory of Jamaica's vibrant tourism industry.
Providing an update on the sector in the House of Representatives, Bartlett outlined optimistic estimates. He said “the island should record a total of 4,122,100 visitors for the period January to December 2023. This would signal an increase of 23.7 percent over the total number of visitors recorded in 2022.”
Highlighting the impressive growth trend, Bartlett noted: “Of this number, 2,875,549 are expected to be stopover visitors, which would represent a 16 percent increase over the number of stopover arrivals recorded in 2022. Additionally, we expect to end the year with a total of 1,246,551 cruise passengers, which would represent a 46.1 percent increase over the tally for 2022.”
Stressing that the sector’s record-breaking recovery seems set to continue, he said: “This continues the spectacular growth pattern of tourism, with 10 consecutive quarters of substantial growth since the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on arrival figures to date, all indications are that we will be having an 11th quarter of significant expansion."
In terms of tourism earnings, the minister announced that “this influx of visitors is expected to generate a whopping $4.265 billion for 2023, representing a projected increase of 17.8 percent over the revenue secured in 2022, and a 17.2 percent increase in revenue over the pre-pandemic year of 2019.” Bartlett emphasized that, “if we continue on our impressive growth trajectory, we will be on track to surpass our projections of 4 million visitors and foreign exchange earnings of $4.1 billion by year-end.”
Bartlett expressed gratitude for the support and contribution of all tourism stakeholders to the continued success of the sector, including tourism workers, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and other local and international partners. The tourism minister reaffirmed that the Ministry, its public bodies and all tourism partners remain committed to fostering the sustainable growth and resilience that have enabled Jamaica to maintain its position as a premier travel destination globally.
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