Headlines:
| Record figures at the start of the tourist season |
|
|
| Saturday, 15 December 2007 | |
It is the start of the 2007/2008 winter tourist season
and Jamaica seems to be
leading the Caribbean in spacing and
occupancy.Tourism Ministry, Edmund Bartlett said bookings recorded for the first day of the season are at 53 per cent, the best in the region, outside of Mexico. Mr. Bartlett said he expects that this trend should hold throughout the season and would a record season, even better than 2006/2007. He said expectations are for the sector to record at least a 10 per cent increase over last year. Mr. Bartlett said this would mean well over US$600,000 in earnings and approximately 500,000 in visitor arrivals. Meanwhile, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Wayne Cummings, said he is encouraged by the figures recorded at the start of the season. Mr. Cummings said hotel bookings are way ahead of projections especially in the larger hotels. He agreed with Minister Bartlett's projection of a record year, but said more still needs to be done, especially in the area of crime, to ensure that the island remains one of the best tourist destinations. Both Minister Bartlett and Mr. Cummings said the current crime wave could impact negatively on the country's tourism sector, affecting the earning potential of the industry. Mr. Bartlett said although the present crime levels did not seem to impact the number of bookings recorded so far, this could change, if the spiralling crime level is not speedily addressed. |