JAMAICA Experienced the Strongest Summer in Tourism history says Ed Bartlett

KINGSTON, Jamaica - September 8, 2023 - Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica experienced its strongest summer ever in its history.

“We closed the summer with just a little over 800,000 stopover visitors, and when cruise was added… 230,000… [we had] just a little over a million visitors in the period and we earned US$1.5 billion for Jamaica in this summer, the highest and best that we have had,” Bartlett said.

Speaking at the press launch of the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites on September 7, the minister said this has put the country on a path where at the end of August, Jamaica received 2.7 million visitors overall, and US$3.1 billion in earnings.

“This is the first time in our history that we have broken the US$3-billion mark before the ninth month of the year, as we did that at the end of August,” Bartlett said.

The minister added that the sector is well on track to set a new record of making US$4 billion at the end of the calendar year.

JAPEX, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) premier trade event, is the single most important business generator for Jamaica's tourism industry.

In three days of pre-scheduled appointments, wholesalers, tour operators and travel agents meet with Jamaica's leading tourism suppliers to conduct business negotiations.

The event will be held from September 11 to 13 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

-JIS