Jamaica is coming to the end of what is likely to be its best summer ever for tourism, and the outlook for the fall is promising as well.
This includes data from the important U.S. market, where Jamaica now expects an increase in flight capacity of 140,000 additional seats between September and December.
This implies an 18% growth over 2019 before the pandemic began and a 19% increase over the same period in 2022.
“This added capacity is a testament to the appeal of the island’s tourism product as well as the excellent relationships we enjoy with our U.S. airline partners,” said the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica.
“They clearly have confidence that we can fill these seats as we are now surpassing 2019 stopover arrivals and on track for a full recovery in those annual figures for 2023,” he added
The increase was primarily due to additional American Airlines flights from Dallas and Chicago, expanded United service from Chicago, and increased Southwest Airlines flights from Baltimore and Orlando, among others.
“As we return tourism arrivals to growth, new routes, larger planes and more available seats from our valued airline partners are critical to achieving that goal,” said Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board. “We are very grateful to all carriers that have increased service to Jamaica and look forward to continuing to work together throughout the years.”
This summer, Jamaica booked 1.4 million seats, a 16 percent increase over the previous record set in 2019.
Almost 75% of all tourists visiting Jamaica are Americans.