New Markets Contributing to Success in Tourism

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the Ministry’s decision to venture into territories that were once considered inaccessible was an important contributor to the overall success of tourism in 2016.

Speaking to JIS News, the Minister noted that a number of these new markets have started to open up, giving stakeholders a renewed sense of optimism and the belief that the best is yet to come.

“From very early in the game, we realised that the old way of simply relying on the traditional markets of the United States, Canada and Great Britain to come through for us would not cut it if we really wanted to achieve real sustainable growth,” Mr. Bartlett said.

“I huddled with the marketing team of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), including Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook, where we decided to spread our wings more forcefully into some of the emerging markets as a way of complementing the numbers we could count on from our traditional partners,” he added.

The Minister said there was also a recognition that a pitch had to be made to what is emerging as one of the biggest blocs of travellers currently traversing the globe – the millennials.

“They are what you would call the new breed of travellers, who are a lot more unorthodox in nature and also their manner and approach to information. With the millennials, destination assurance is very critical, and that is the kind of marketing we have been doing, and to telling effect,” he said.

Mr. Bartlett further pointed out that the record number of arrivals the country is now experiencing is but the tip of the iceberg, noting that the projections going deeper into the winter season show that the numbers for both cruise-shipping and stopover visitors will continue on their meteoric rise.

He also pointed to the collaboration between his Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, earlier in the year, to waive visa requirements for selected markets.

“We took a decision to be more aggressive in going after the Latin American market and also to do some strategic promotions into Eastern Europe,” Mr. Bartlett said.

The Minister noted that direct charter flights have also been coming out of emerging markets, pointing to the work of destination management companies, such as Turissmo and Mojoa Tours, in getting direct flights into Montego Bay.

“It was indeed the first time we were seeing a direct flight out of Austria and Switzerland into Montego Bay, which speaks to the push we have been making for organised airlifts,” he said.