JAMAICA'S tourism LAUNCHES ECONOMY by 5.7%
The Jamaican Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has confirmed that the tourism sector is driving the recovery after the pandemic of the island, whose economy has grown by 5.7% in the second quarter of the year. In his own words, tourism and hospitality have contributed "significantly" to this economic growth, collected in the latest report from the Planning Institute Of Jamaica (PIOJ, for its acronym in English).
In Jamaica, not only have international arrivals already far exceeded 2021 figures, but according to figures from its Tourist Board, the length of stay has returned to 2019 levels of 7.9 nights and, more importantly, the average spend per visitor has gone from $168 per person per night to $182.
This means, as Edmund Bartlett has highlighted, that “the tourism sector is generating more foreign exchange per visitor, so there is more money circulating in the broader economy and this benefits various players in the industry”.
"The results are a clear indication of the resilience of the sector, which is constantly recovering," according to the island's Minister of Tourism.
With arrivals rising month-on-month, Bartlett has said they remain optimistic numbers will return "to record 2019 levels by 2023."
Tourism represents 10% of direct contributions to GDP and 33% of indirect contributions in Jamaica, so the impact during the pandemic and until the reopening of the borders in June 2020 was significant.
Last November Bartlett predicted that in 2022 Jamaica would receive 3.2 million visitors, of which 1.1 million would be cruise passengers, and that by 2024 they expected to reach 4.5 million visitors.
Source: https://www.hosteltur.com/152997_jamaica-su-economia-crece-un-57-gracias-al-turismo.html