Scary headlines impact tourism earnings in 2024, but inflows resilient

Jamaica earned US$4.3 billion from the tourism in 2024, with an estimated 4.3 million tourist visiting the country, the island’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has said.

Speaking on the JIS Television Programme ‘Get the Facts’, Bartlett said the sector finished the year strong, despite the slight shortfall in arrival figures due to aviation disruptions, Hurricane Beryl and geopolitical issues such as travel advisories.

“We had 68,000 less seats into Jamaica, which meant there was a natural reduction in the projected figures in terms of arrivals. Tourism, as you know, is resilient. Notwithstanding those disruptions, we are coming out of the year with a small increase in arrivals but the earnings are in line with what we projected,” Bartlett said.

In 2023, Jamaica welcomed a total of 4,181,592 visitors with gross earnings of near US$4.31 billion. In 2024, however, earnings fell as the industry received repeated blows affecting arrivals, including negative travel advisories, labour troubles, airlift challenges, a cyber-attack on aviation and supply chain glitches.

Projections for the new year were for five million visitors, but results are tracking behind that, with hotels discounting room rates to woo visitors.

In the very first month of the year the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Jamaica, a "Level 3," which encouraged Americans to "reconsider travel" citing "violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides," as the reasons for the alert. The advisory also mentioned all-inclusive resorts.

Minister of Tourism (MOT) head, Edmund Bartlet, told Caribbean Money Daily (CMD) in November 2024 that earnings from visitor arrivals have been flat year on year, partly because of such challenges.

“We are flat which is to say we are at the same level as 2023. It is anticipated we could end of the year with at a 1.5 per cent increase in revenue and a one per cent increase in stopover arrivals. Stopover is where the heavy earnings come from.”

The MOT reported in excess of 3.5 million visitors as at September 2024. By year end 2024 it is expected that this should increase to 4.1 million visitors. “Earnings should be roughly $4.3 billion at year end,” Bartlett suggested, adding, “For the fiscal year which will include the winter season, the outturn will be better.”

Robin Russell, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) told CMD that for 2024, “Hotels started strong, but after the travel advisory we lost traction. Added to that was hurricane Beryl. Many properties kept decent numbers but had to offer deep discounts to attract the business.”

Minister Edmund Bartlett, addressing the matter of crime, said, “When we have public order issues it’s a public order issue for Jamaica, not for tourists. To the extent that visitors decide not to come it’s a pain. When you take a step to sanitise, they say you have two Jamaicas.”

In chronicling the events of the year the MOT head outlined, “When we navigated through covid one point made to our industry partners was that the recovery could be more disruptive than covid itself. First was the disruption of the supply chain with goods unavailable for hotels and other tourism stakeholders.

“Then there was also the human capital disruption. Some 74 million or 20 per cent of tourism workers globally did not return to their jobs. We in Jamaica had serious drain on our workforce with workers securing jobs elsewhere.”

Worst of all, he said, were aviation challenges with a demand for new planes that Boeing and Airbus said that they could not supply. Airline maintenance companies also had challenges in sourcing equipment needed.

Altogether, Bartlett said, the result was severe cutback of airlift and Jamaica suffered. This was also followed by hurricane Beryl in July. “We had Beryl and the cyber-attack on aviation that halted aviation activity for two days.”

There was also labour unrest with workers asking for better remuneration. The solution to that, according to Bartlett is to “professionalize our workforce and all ow them to be certified to reduce the discrepancy in how workers are remunerated.”

The Ministry of Tourism head said, “This year has been critical. We note the downturn in tourism and the impact on GDP. It cannot continue. The thrust will be to restore growth”

For the winter season ended, the MOT reported some 3 million stopover and cruise visitors to the island, earning approximately US$3 billion.

Bartlett stated, “With all the pain and agony we went through, it shows the resilience of the industry {under conditions} which would have probably decimated another nation.”

The pivot for 2025, he outlined, includes the diversification of product offering. One focus, he said, was Health and Wellness. But there are also new markets outside of main market the United States which are being sought.

Bartlett said, “We must pivot as well in terms of geopolitics. Which will be the new centres of tourism demand and how will Jamaica absorb these visitors when they come?”

The MOT’s focus on market diversification he said was, “part of future-proofing our tourism product. In terms of fallout from US and other major markets, we have India and Asia in our focus. The new power centres are the APEC (Asia-Pacific) countries.

“Jamaica has to start early to position itself to benefit. The other important element is that these are long haul destinations which means visitors will spend longer in Jamaica. It is in keeping with the luxury market.”

The start of the current winter season, he asserted, has been n strong. “We inaugurated the Latam flight three times weekly to Peru. It will bring 45,000 more visitors to the country. By summer of 2025 new markets are expected to add 100,000 visitors.”

Russel of the JHTA stated, “We are seeing (improved) demand in forward bookings so far, for the upcoming winter season.” He noted also that although arrivals fell in 2024, they remain ahead of 2019.

Bartlett indicates that regardless of challenges, the trajectory of growth will continue. “We started eight years ago with 25,000 tourism workers. Now we are at 65,000 and growing in the industry.

“Growth happens and it cause disruptions too. We have increased workers by over 100 per cent in eight years. The demand for goods and services has also increased exponentially.”

 Sources: CMC and Caribbean Money Daily

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