Jamaica’s Tourism Investments Marks ‘Confidence’ as Country Eyes Influx of Visitors

Jamaican tourism officials are projecting an optimistic outlook of the country’s tourism industry this summer.

“Continued additions to our tourist infrastructure leave us well-positioned to handle the huge influx of travelers that we are expecting with the loosening of travel restrictions,” said Director of Tourism Donovan White, adding that 90% of the planned tourism investments expected to be completed on time.

At least 4,800 additional rooms will be added by the end of 2023. Upcoming additions to room stock include Sandals Negril, Sandals Whitehouse, Sandals Royal Caribbean, and Princess Hotels in Negril. Hard Rock in Montego Bay will add 1,700 to the inventory over the next two years.

Citing these investments as a vote of confidence in the country, the long-awaited Harmony Cove project in Trelawny is set to continue during this year and into next. The $7.5-billion development, which has been planned for more than 10 years, will include several luxury hotels, world-class golf courses, a luxury spa, marina facilities, commercial developments, and private residences.

In addition, billions of dollars have been invested in updating the country’s infrastructure, including improvements to the island’s two major airports and the development of beach facilities, refreshing of heritage sites, and the upgrading of cruise piers.

“The future of tourism in Jamaica is very bright, and our goal to dramatically increase the number of hotel rooms in the destination is still on track, despite the challenges we’ve been facing,” said Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett. “We continue to create an enabling environment to foster investment in tourism as we build forward stronger, and investor confidence remains extremely high.”

Bartlett said during the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s virtual Marketplace event the country is projecting the country will welcome 1.4 million visitors in 2021. “This breaks down to approximately 900,000 stayover arrivals and 500,000 cruise passengers,” he said

Jamaica welcomed 4.3 million visitors in 2019, a record year, with 2.7 million stayovers and 1.6 million cruise passengers.

As it looks to revitalize the industry to these previous numbers, Jamaica anticipates welcoming over 500,000 cruise ship visitors thanks to a first time home-porting arrangement with a major American cruise line.

Norwegian Cruise Line will homeport its vessels in Montego Bay starting Aug. 7 with two itineraries, one stopping in Ocho Rios before heading on to Cozumel in Mexico and Honduras, then returning to Montego Bay. The other schedule also includes Ocho Rios, but from there passengers will sail to the ABC Islands, namely, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.

The Viking, with capacity for 950 passengers, is also slated to homeport in Montego Bay, beginning in August.

As Jamaica continues its vaccination program for 170,000 workers in the tourism and hospitality sectors, Barlett said more than 50% of those workers will be fully vaccinated by this summer.