Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmond Bartlett addresses top travel agents from Baltimore and Philadelphia at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant downtown Baltimore at a luncheon hosted by the Jamaica Tourist Board on Friday, April 12.(Derrick Scott Photo )
WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has lauded U.S. travel advisors for the important role they play in promoting and selling Jamaica as a tourist destination.
Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmond Bartlett addresses top travel agents from Baltimore and Philadelphia at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant downtown Baltimore. The luncheon was hosted by the Jamaica Tourist Board on Friday, April 12. | (Derrick Scott Photo )
Minister Bartlett told the over twenty travel agents from Baltimore and Philadelphia, “you can be assured that selling Jamaica to potential visitors to our shores is a safe, secure, and seamless experience.
“Jamaica appreciates all that you do to book your clients to the destination. We are grateful to each and every one of our valued travel professional partners for the business you continue to send our way.”
The Tourism Minister made his comments as he addressed a luncheon hosted by the Jamaica Tourist Board in honor of top travel agents from Baltimore and Philadelphia at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant downtown Baltimore on Friday, April 12.
Minister Bartlett pointed out that the majority of the bookings into Jamaica were made by travel agents and tour operators and noted that approximately 70 percent of all visitors to Jamaica were from the US, our largest source market.
Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett center poses for a photograph with top travel agents from Baltimore and Philadelphia. | (Derrick Scott Photo)
Bartlett told the travel agents that “each one of you has helped our tourism sector to thrive and grow and for that I can’t thank you enough.”
He said that Jamaica’s tourist industry has continued to grow and is now seeing visitor arrivals and earnings exceeding 2019 pre-pandemic levels. “For 2023, our data indicates that we welcomed approximately 4 million visitors to our shores with gross foreign exchange earnings of approximately USD $4.2 billion, which is nearly 18 percent above earnings posted in 2019,” Bartlett advised.
Stopover Arrivals
The Minister pointed out that stopover arrivals accounted for approximately 70 percent of total visitor arrivals and that we received an estimated 2.98 million, which represents an increase of 16.7 percent over 2022 and an increase of 7.9 percent over 2019.
He said that over 2.1 million of those arrivals were from the U.S. market which represents about 74 percent of total stopover arrivals for the year. This marks an increase of 15.2 percent over 2022 and an increase of 16.1 percent over 2019.
Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett presents a gift basket of Jamaican goodies to Ms. Claire Robinson (R) of Skies Travel Agency at a luncheon for top travel advisors from Baltimore and Philadelphia. Sharing in the spotlight is the Jamaica Tourist Board’s District Sales Manager for the Northeast USA Victoria Harper (L). | (Derrick Scott Photo)
Mr. Bartlett said he was pleased that Jamaica had broken another barrier by welcoming one million visitors and earning one billion dollars in gross foreign exchange earnings during the first two months of this year alone.
“We have experienced a remarkable peak winter season so far, when we receive the most stopover arrivals of the year, as people from our key source markets, especially the US and Canada come to escape the cold for a warm weather holiday, Bartlett concluded.
