The summer travel outlook 2022 report revealed that “at the city level, summer travel recovery is being led by Caribbean destinations namely Montego Bay, Jamaica” with a positive growth of 23 percent.
The report also shared that Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Cancun, Mexico, placed second and third, with 19 percent and 14 percent increase, respectively. Twenty cities were listed in the report, with Cairo, Egypt, and Dehli in India rounding out the top 5, cities.
Based on the reported data, which showed a comparison between international tourist arrivals for Q3 2022 and Q3 2019, Montego Bay is among the most resilient destination cities. Montego Bay, the capital of St. James on the island’s north coast, is a major cruise ship port with numerous beach resorts.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett who recently shared that a part of the sector’s recovery strategy was meeting with long-standing tourism partners to get a feel of market sentiment and projections, is pleased with the news, has expressed delight with the news.
Mr. Bartlett said this is proof that “Jamaica is bouncing forward from the devastating impact to the sector by the COVID-19 pandemic”, adding that "we are truly resilient”. The Tourism Minister noted also that the industry is “now more than before, poised for a full recovery”. The country has seen record figures for arrivals and earnings over the last year.
