NEW YORK — Jamaican tourism officers visiting right here in February to have a good time Reggae Month and the discharge of a serious movement image in regards to the island nation’s most well-known son, Bob Marley, have been keen to speak about resort and infrastructure growth within the nation.
They have been simply as desirous to see client media shops transfer on from protection in regards to the U.S. State Division’s reiteration of its Stage 3 journey advisory.
The movie, “Bob Marley: One Love,” which opened within the U.S. on Valentine’s Day, was filmed in Jamaica and is anticipated to supply a lift for each tourism and the island’s movie trade.
However even earlier than the film’s launch, Jamaica tourism had been surging. Donovan White, the Jamaica Vacationer Board’s director of tourism, mentioned throughout a media occasion right here that whereas 2023 numbers have been nonetheless being finalized, it appeared they’d surpass 2019’s figures by about 18%, with a projected 4.1 million guests and $4.3 billion in income final yr. And that didn’t embrace cruise passengers.
White mentioned that 15,000 resort rooms are anticipated to open on the island over the following 5 to seven years. This yr alone, openings will embrace 1,000 rooms at two new Princess properties in addition to the 745-room Riu in Negril and the 450-room Unico 1877 Resort Montego Bay.
“The funding urge for food for Jamaica is extraordinarily constructive,” White mentioned, including that there are sturdy commitments from investing companions to place cash into housing options for resort workers.
Main enhancements that debuted final yr at Sangster Airport in Montego Bay will assist accommodate that progress, White mentioned, including that the adjustments have been made after analyzing among the customer challenges by way of arrival and departure logistics.
The adjustments embrace an expanded immigration corridor and departure lounge and runway extensions. White mentioned that beforehand, when 4 to 6 flights have been coming in “on prime of one another,” the airport might get fairly congested.
“We have been hell-bent on discovering an answer that might alleviate a few of that stress,” he mentioned. “And that is what we have accomplished.”
White mentioned there are extra alternatives to clean the airport course of, particularly as customer numbers develop. “As you add extra rooms and also you add extra folks and extra flights, it’s important to proceed to overview your airport processes,” he mentioned.
White additionally mentioned that to accommodate the extra guests, the island is targeted on workers coaching.
“We have now to proceed to coach and develop our workforce to satisfy that demand,” he mentioned, including that it’s important that the locals and the island profit from tourism investments.
White mentioned there wasn’t a big fast response from vacationers following the State Division’s advisory, regardless of the headlines it triggered. However, he added, “We’re not naive on this enterprise. We perceive that typically choices will not be taken instantly and folks e-book their journey effectively into the long run.”
With 70% of tourism bookings for the island coming from journey businesses, White mentioned the vacationer board regarded to them as the primary line of protection towards misinformation.
“What we’ve relied on at all times and proceed to take action is the connection we’ve with the agent group,” he mentioned. “The connection with the agent group permits us to attach with these vacationers and people journey teams a lot sooner, reassure them and supply them with the type of responses that give them the sense of safety and security that they are in search of. And so we have been in a position to make use of that through the years, and we proceed to try this at this time.”
