Jamaica Earns US$2 Billion from Tourist Arrivals in First 10 Months of 2016
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica remains on track to have a record year in tourism as the island continues to register growth of over 5% for both tourism earnings and visitor arrivals.
From January to October 2016, Jamaica recorded earnings of US$2.06 billion, which represents an increase of 5.7% over the amount earned for the same period last year.
The island also registered an increase of 5.1% in visitor arrivals over the same period last year, with 3,100, 235 total visitors.
Growth in both arrivals and earnings came despite Jamaica suffering a loss of over 8,000 visitors during the passage of Hurricane Matthew.
“The latest figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board are truly proof of the strength of Jamaica’s tourism product. We have consistently recorded growth throughout the year, though over 8,000 potential visitors cancelled their trips due to the passage of Hurricane Matthew in October,” said Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.
During the first 10 months of 2016, stopover arrivals also increased by 2.3% over the same period last year, with 1,786,394 visitors, while cruise arrivals increased by 9.1% over the same period in 2015, totaling 1,313,841 cruise passengers.
“Our arrival figures and tourism earnings, from January and October of this year are very positive and an indicator of the considerable impact tourism is having on the growth agenda. Our tourism earnings continue to outpace our arrivals, which is quite significant. It is clear, that we remain on track to have a record year in tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.
Latin America and Europe – Key Markets For Jamaica
Latin America and Europe were Jamaica’s strongest markets during the period January to October.
Stopover arrivals from the Latin American market were up by 26.6% over the same period last year, with 2,803 visitors. Arrivals out of Europe increased by 10.5%, over the same period for 2015 with a total of 21,870 stopover arrivals.
