Jamaica Seeks Strong Season with Ads, Airlift

As the high season rolls into full gear in the Caribbean, Jamaican tourism officials are hopeful that the holidays signal a strong start to the four-month peak travel period.

Jamaica already is predicting one of its best-ever winter seasons, due to the 1 million airline seats available to the island. The forecast is pegged to a 4 percent upsurge in visitor arrivals through October, a strong number in comparison with many other Caribbean countries in 2009.

Jamaica welcomed 1.76 million visitors in 2008 and hopes to top that with 1.8 million arrivals by the end of this year. Revenue earned from tourism totaled $1.53 billion in 2008, according to John Lynch, Jamaica Tourist Board chairman and director of tourism.

Among the carriers that have added lift or launched services to Jamaica are Air Jamaica, JetBlue, US Airways, AirTran, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Air Canada. Two new charter operations from Italy into Montego Bay offer connections to Eastern Europe gateways, a market that’s gotten a lot of attention from Jamaica and other Caribbean destinations.

Germany, too, is emerging as a new visitor source for Jamaica, according to Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism. Bartlett attributed Jamaica’s tourism growth, even in a recession, to “our strong presence in the global market as well as sector support, our marketing team and the strategies of local brands.”

The JTB has budgeted $14 million on an advertising and promotion campaign that will roll out in early 2010 in the cold-weather markets in the U.S. and Canada. Expanding on a successful campaign last winter at the bus and rail terminals in New York, which included handouts of Blue Mountain coffee to cold commuters, the JTB will return to the Big Apple this winter and will include Boston and Chicago in the blitz.

Jamaica hosted 1.1 million cruise visitors in 2008, and that number is expected to hold steady for 2009. But an increase is expected for the 2010-2011 cruise season, when Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas begins calls at Falmouth port next December.

William Tatham, vice president of cruise and marine operations at the Port Authority of Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer that the opening of the Falmouth port “will allow Jamaica to accept more calls, particularly on Tuesdays through Thursdays, which are considered critical cruise days.”

However, the ports in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios will be busy this winter, with 48 ships expected this month and another 40 in January. The destination has plenty of new features and developments to entice visitors this winter.

The Mystic Mountain theme park extended its weekend operations and now is open on Friday and Saturday nights for the Rainforest Bobsled Jamaica ride, dining and rides on the Tranopy zipline through the rain forest to platforms ringed with torches.

Nightlife in Kingston now features Pure, a nightclub adjacent to the Quad nightclub on Trinidad Terrace in New Kingston. Pure has valet parking, 2,000 square feet of lounge space, a VIP section and a skybox that can accommodate private parties up to 20 people.

The lineup for the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival Jan. 24 to 30 continues to grow. Confirmed acts for the 2010 event now include Jennifer Hudson, Gladys Knight, Joss Stone, Hall and Oates, Jon Secada, reggae band Third World, Maxi Priest, Roy Ayers and Monty Alexander.