Government Seeking to Remove Negative Evaluation of Jamaica

Jamaica is working to remove those elements that are considered to foster a negative evaluation of the destination, says Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

“We are working also with our diplomatic partners to enable a better understanding of the Jamaican situation, and we are relying heavily now on Jamaica’s history of strong, safe and secure experiences,” he noted.

Minister Bartlett was responding to a question regarding the impact of recent travel advisories on the tourism sector, during Wednesday’s (May 1) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

The Minister noted that travel advisories are the purview of Jamaica’s international partners.

“In evaluating what they regard as the state of our three Ss – safety, security and seamlessness – they do gradings. It is our job to ensure that at all times when the grades are done, that we are at the highest level of their evaluation,” Mr. Bartlett said.

He pointed out that Jamaica has a 42 per cent repeat business, which is the highest in the region.

Stopover arrivals for the 2023/24 fiscal year are estimated at 2.96 million, reflecting a 9.4 per cent increase, while cruise arrivals are estimated at 1.34 million, up by nine per cent from the previous period in 2022/23.