Sunday, August 25, 2024 Travel and tourism stakeholders are anticipating a dip in tourist arrivals for 2024, but they remain confident that the numbers will still surpass pre-pandemic levels. This year’s performance has been impacted by Hurricane Beryl in July and an earlier travel advisory from the United States. “Beryl didn’t help, and we lost a crucial week during the July 4th holiday.
However, we’ve managed to recover, not quite to the exceptional levels of 2023, but we’re back to our benchmark year of 2019,” said Robin Russell, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA) , at the Bank of Jamaica’s quarterly press conference held in Montego Bay, the nation’s tourism hub. Russell noted that the year began under the cloud of a negative travel advisory issued by the U.S.
government, advising its citizens to avoid travel to Jamaica due to safety concerns. This advisory was widely publicized, which contributed to a cautious start to the year. On July 25, the U.
S. State Department updated its advisory to include more details on crime and healthcare, still urging its citizens to “reconsider travel to Jamaica due to crime.” The advisories range from normal travel to avoidance, with Jamaica currently at Level 3, urging caution.
Russell expressed optimism for the remainder of the year, although he acknowledged that it wouldn’t be as strong as 2023. Behind these projections are companies like Playa Resorts and Hotels, which operates five hotel.