Montego Bay, Jamaica – A historical landmark was recorded on Sunday afternoon, December 29, 2013 when for the first time the country saw over two million stopover visitors landing on its shores in any one year.
On hand to give a special welcome to the two millionth tourist were the Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr. the Hon. Wykeham McNeill, a host of dignitaries from various sectors of the industry and Mayor of Montego Bay, Cllr. Glendon Harris.
At a press briefing at the Sangster International Airport, Minister McNeill noted that Jamaica remained high on the list of consumers the world over, and “We feed these aspirations by our marketing efforts, for the excellence of which we have consistently earned admiration and recognition.”
He pointed out that visitor arrivals in 1955 stood at almost 87,000 and had been growing exponentially, passing the one million mark in 2003 when the figure stood at 1.3 million stop overs, and “today, ten years later, we mark the arrival of our two-millionth stopover visitor.”
In 2003 cruise arrival also reached the two million mark. This year, just over 1.4 million cruise passengers are expected to grace the island.
“In reaching these milestone achievements, the industry has seen Jamaica establish itself as a major centre of hotel development, to the extent that our hotel developers have been successful at developing international brands that have driven growth here at home and in several other places in the region,” said Dr. McNeill.
Director of Tourism John Lynch said it was a very good time for tourism in Jamaica at this time with arrivals for October through December being “very good” and “with that kind of momentum going for us it is going to be almost impossible for us to have a bad winter season.”
Mayor Harris was pleased that the two-millionth stop over visitor had landed in the city of Montego Bay “which is the hub and carries the majority of those visitors to the island.”
The celebrity visitor, Alexis Grenier a financier making her first trip to Jamaica from Boston Massachusetts, shared the honour with her public relations husband Craig who had been to Jamaica once before. Both said they had no idea that an official welcome awaited them on their arrival; “I’m so happy to be here; we just wanted to get away from Boston where it is so cold,” said Alexis who was looking forward to time on the beach to relax “and enjoy it.”
Apart from the fact that their four-day visit was to attend a wedding, she admitted that her husband “has been talking about it for so long, he loves Jamaica and I get to visit finally.” With gifts of a book on Jamaica, complimentary airline tickets to return to the island from American Airlines, and accommodation for future stays at both Jewel Runaway Bay and the Grand Palladium, Alexis beamed, “that’s the most exciting part.” She was also presented with a huge bouquet by Director General at the Ministry of Tourism Carrole Guntley.
Craig who “really likes Jamaica” has fond thoughts of Reggae, Usain Bolt and the island’s culture.
