Tourist arrivals up in Jamaica

Dr. Wykeham McNeill, Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism

Thursday, September 18, 2003

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Jamaica's tourist sector is growing by leaps and bounds. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, says that there has been strong, positive movement in the sector so far this year, with stopover arrivals for January to July growing by seven per cent over the same period in 2002. 

JIS News quoted the minister as saying that there were 144,000 stopovers in the month of July alone, which was the highest recorded for any given month in the country's history. 

Meanwhile, figures for the month of August showed an 8.7 per cent increase over the same period last year and projections are that the year should end with arrival figures of 2.4 per cent over 2000, giving the island its best year in tourism to date.

Dr. McNeill, revealed that tourist arrivals from Europe had also increased by some 25 per cent, with substantial increases recorded from the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands.

He said indications were that early bookings for the 2003/2004-winter tourist season were very positive. Jamaica has traditionally depended on the United States market, with 73 per cent of the arrivals coming from that country.

The State Minister further pointed out that, "not only are arrivals up, but yields are trending upwards because room rates are also on the increase." 

Minister McNeill said this had reflected positively on the country's foreign exchange earnings with figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Planning Institute of Jamaica showing earnings of US$791 million for the period January to July this year, which is a 9.45 per cent increase over 2002. 

He also revealed that this year, projections were that the industry would see a 10 per cent increase in foreign exchange earnings that would haul in US$1.342 billion. 

Underscoring the role of the Ministry in the sector, Dr. McNeill said, "We want to be an efficient, effective, lean, mean, tourism machine…when we talk about globalisation, it is important to understand that in effect, it means that as a country, we need to be more competitive. We are not speaking about the private or public sectors working in isolation. Both sectors have to work towards this goal. Our partners in the private sector have been working to achieve this and they have come a long way."

The rise in tourists comes as Cabinet approved a billion dollar master plan for the development of the tourism sector over the next seven years. The aim is to drive economic growth while increasing the country's foreign exchange earnings.

The key targets of the plan, which should bear fruit by 2010 according to JIS News, will entail an increase in stop-over arrivals from 1.3 million to 2.2 million persons; cruise ship passengers from 908,000 to 2,000,200; visitor expenditure from US $1,333 to US$2,934; room stock moving from 22,640, to 35,000; employment from 75,000 to 130, 000; net foreign exchange contribution from 800 to 1,800 and increase gross domestic product contribution from eight per cent to 15 per cent. 

Focus will be reportedly be placed on diversifying the tourism product by moving away from the traditional sun, sand and sea offerings, to expanding attractions in heritage tourism, music and entertainment, retirement, health and sports.

Industry and Tourism Minister, Ms. Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, revealed that a budget of US $1.6 billion has been set to implement programmes, with the private sector expected to contribute US $1.4 billion through the development of hotels and attractions.

The first phase of the plan is expected to get under way in time for the start of the winter season on 15th December, and will entail the beautification and clean up of resort towns.

"Clean-up and beautification projects will achieve quick wins at this point. They will enhance the experience of visitors and locals, consolidate the upturn shown in the market so far, and signal the Government's commitment to the Master Plan," Mrs. Assamba was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board, Mr. Dennis Morrison, is estimating growth of 10 per cent from the sector this calendar year. "Conservatively, we expect growth of 10 per cent but we think it will be higher than that," he said.

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