Tourism in Jamaica poised for another record-breaking year – Bartlett

Jamaica is on track to welcome a record number of some 4.3 million visitors in 2024, generating a staggering US$4.5 billion in revenue, according to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

Bartlett revealed the optimistic projections at Wednesday's Sandals Jamaica Love Showcase in Montego Bay, St James, where he cited a strong post-COVID recovery for the industry, both locally and internationally.

"In 2019, 1.4 billion people travelled across the earth for touristic purposes, and spent US$3 trillion; and then COVID came and all of that was eviscerated, and we went to zero, zero, zero everywhere, almost," Barlett explained.

"Since COVID, the recovery has been so strong, but not complete until this year, 2024, when the world will see 1.5 billion visitors traversing the world and earned (spend) US$4 trillion," the minister asserted.

Bartlett then went on to laud the tourists, visitors and other investors for making Jamaica's tourism product part of that history.

"And Jamaica, because of you (the tourists and visitors), will make new records too, small increment, but it is important over last year.

"We gonna close (2024) at some 4.3 million visitors, the highest in our history, and earn US$4.5 billion, (also) the highest in our history," Bartlett declared.

The minister forecasted even loftier goals for 2025 for Jamaica, with five million visitors and earnings of US$5 billion expected.