LONDONJamaica has been listed among the 10 overseas destinations for Britons who marry abroad.
The country has been ranked with Mauritius, Las Vegas (USA), Antigua and the Republic of Ireland, just below South Africa and St. Lucia, and above the Greek islands, Hawaii and Barbados.
According to a survey by a British home insurance company, almost one in four British couples who got married in the last two years headed out of the country to get married, spending £1.8 billion in the process. The figure suggested a sharp increase over the five years from 1996 to 2001, when just nine per cent of couples married abroad.
Jamaica has also been ranked high as a honeymoon destination. Weddings have, over the years, become an important aspect of the tourism product. Jamaica Tourist Board figures show consistent growth in this area, with more than 10,000 tourists getting married in Jamaica in 2002.
According to the survey, two out of five Britons who travelled overseas to get married said they wanted to merge their wedding and honeymoon into one decent holiday; a third wanted a guarantee of good weather on the big day; and more than a quarter admitted they had fled to escape relatives.
