by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:25 PM ET, Thu September 21, 2023
Jamaica is working
to parlay its explosive post-pandemic visitor growth into future tourism
success through an expansion of its tourism infrastructure, said government and
tourism officials.
At the same
time, Jamaican officials are continuing expansion projects at each of its three international
airports while also planning for the introduction of thousands of new hotel
rooms over the next decade.
Speaking at this
past week's Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) conference in Montego Bay, White
called 2023 a “fantastic” year for Jamaican tourism.
“Visitors
are staying slightly longer in the destination, and they’re also spending more,”
White said. “Visitor spending is up to
around $183 per night, per visitor to the destination. For 2023, our forecast
is 3.88 million visitors, with an estimated spend of $4.2 billion in the
destination.”
The 2023
visitor totals are evidence of Jamaica’s measured approach to resuming travel
following the pandemic and its strong appeal with travelers, said Edmund
Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister.
“We were at
zero in terms of economic activity,” following the outbreak, said Bartlett. “We
have moved from there to today, where visitors are at 5 percent over 2019,
which was our best year in terms of visitor arrivals.”
Jamaica’s government
is implementing a series of initiatives to extend its tourism growth, including
transportation improvements.
“We are
seeking to improve our road infrastructure and expand our highway network to
facilitate [visitors'] ability to move about the island,” White said.
“We are
about ready to open the expansion of the highways from May Pen in the central
part of the island to Mandeville, which then opens up the south coast,” he
said.
Additionally,
“there is a project to have a bypass for downtown Montego Bay to make it easier
to traverse into Montego Bay by building highways around the major population
centers in the Hip Strip area,” said White.
Part of the Club Mobay lounge at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica (Photo Credit: Eric Bowman)
Airport
Expansion
Meanwhile, work
continues on an earlier announced $160 million expansion of Sangster
International Airport. Following the
completed renovation of the departure lounge, the expansion’s next phase will
address the arrivals area, where the outdated airport has struggled during the recent travel boom.
“It has been
a bit of a pain for us, not mincing words,” said White. “But we are committed
to improving and changing the experience of every arriving passenger, from
plane side to curb side.”
Recent
airport efficiency upgrades include new digital immigration and customs forms, which travelers
are encouraged to complete prior to arrival. “That’s just one of the steps we
have to take to refine the process to make it seamless,” White said.
Expansion
and improvement projects are also underway at Kingston’s Norman Manley
International Airport and Ian Fleming International Airport in the Boscobel
district.
White said the
latter project will “improve access to the Ocho Rios and Portland parts of the destination”
and boutique luxury resorts located in the surrounding St. Mary parish.
Jamaica’s
fall airline capacity will total more than 890,000 seats, according to Jamaica
Ministry of Tourism data, a 19 percent increase over the same period in 2022
and an 18 percent increase over pre-pandemic 2019.
White said
expanded flight schedules from American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest
Airlines are primarily responsible for the increase.
Jamaica will
add new airline deployment in the last months of 2023, with new Southwest
flights departing from Kansas City beginning in November and new
United service from Denver.
The Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters is now open for booking. (Photo Credit: Blue Diamond Resorts)
Room Boom
Jamaica is
also in the midst of a significant hotel development wave. Even at the
pandemic’s apex, investors “were still interested in Jamaica,” said Bartlett.
“So we are now
on track to build 20,000 new rooms in Jamaica over the next 10 to 15 years. In 2024, we'll bring in
excess of 2,000 new hotel rooms to Jamaica.”
Slated for completion this November is the 352-room
Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters. The first 1,000
rooms of the 2,000-room Princess Hamilton in Hanover will arrive in February 2024,” Bartlett
said.
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