KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, says that although the Jamaican economy is faced with many challenges, the country is doing reasonably well in terms of tourism, as the latest figures for October show a 5% (five percent) increase in visitor arrivals, compared to the same period last year.
Mr. Golding made this disclosure while speaking on his monthly call-in programme, “Jamaica House Live” Wednesday night (Oct. 29). He cautioned however, that because most of our tourists come from the United States, Canada and Europe, they are less likely to want to take a holiday since their own economic circumstances were tightening around them, as a result of the present global financial crisis.
Turning to remittances, the Prime Minister said that up to the end of September, remittances were up by 7.7% (seven-point-seven-percent) above last year’s figures. He, however, pointed out that no one knows what will happen in the next couple of months because many Jamaicans who reside in the USA, Britain and Canada, who usually send their remittances to Jamaica, are also being affected by the economic fallout.
Mr. Golding said the challenge is to manage our way through these challenging times and he is confident that an opening will be found to move the country forward.
