Bartlett: Jamaica’s Tourism to Gain 6 Percent

Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett is projecting a 6 percent growth in tourism this year, almost twice the growth recorded in 2009. Mr. Bartlett made the announcement while speaking at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Marketplace 2010 Travel Trade event last week.

He said based on forecasts, arrivals are expected to register a 6 percent increase in 2010. The Tourism Minister attributed this to the time and resources spent putting the infrastructure in place to grow tourism, including deliberate strategies to increase air capacity, to Jamaica.

Cruise arrivals registered a decline in 2009 however; this is projected to increase by 5 percent this year. According to Mr. Bartlett, this projected 5 percent growth will be due to the redeployment of vessels from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and the expansion of port capacity in Jamaica.