Beach perfection in Negril Photo Credit Sunset at The Palms

JAMAICA CREDITS TOURISM FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Tourism is the Main Driver of Jamaica’s Economic Recovery

KINGSTON, Jamaica; Aug. 2022: Celebrating impressive tourism numbers in Jamaica, Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett underscored the outstanding performance of the tourism sector following the release of the latest report by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) which noted ‘tourism is driving Jamaica’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery’. www.pioj.gov.jm/ The PIOJ announced that the economy grew by 5.7% during the April to June quarter of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, with the tourism and hospitality sector contributing substantially. www.visitjamaica.com/

Hilton Rose Hall Resort is a beachfront upscale vacation choice Photo Credit Hilton Resorts

The PIOJ reported that the Real Value Added for hotels and restaurants grew by an estimated 55.4%, reflecting a sharp increase in visitor arrivals from all main source markets and that for April–May 2022 total foreign national arrivals was 399,310 visitors, representing an increase of 110.0% relative to the corresponding period in 2021. According to Jamaica Tourist Board figures, the length of stay is back to the 2019 levels of 7.9 nights and more importantly, the average spend per visitor has increased from US$ 168.00 per night to US$ 182.00 per person per night. www.mot.gov.jm/

Tourism is the main driver of Jamaica’s economic recovery Photo Credit @visitjamaica

Jamaica has welcomed over 3.5 million (3,556,394) visitors as of July 2022. Likewise, year-to-date the island has welcomed over 1.7 million visitors (1,714,956), an increase of 139.4% over the same period in 2021. There was also an estimated increase of 10% in visitor arrivals for July 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. With increased arrivals month-over-month, Minister Bartlett said “we remain optimistic that our performance figures will return to 2019 pre-COVID record levels by 2023.”