Donovan White, director of Tourism for Jamaica, hails the trade for helping to boost the destinations visitor numbers to smash pre-pandemic records.
White spoke exclusively to Travel Bulletin’s Leah Kelly at the annual Jamaica Travel Market last week, highlighting the destination’s air capacity growth, upcoming products and the integral role the trade has played in the region's post-Covid-19 recovery.
“From a performance perspective, the destination is doing exceedingly well. We have, to date, welcomed over three million visitors to the destination. We are ahead of 2019, which means we’re not only recovered but we’re now in growth mode from Covid-19.”
Jamaica has always bolstered strong airline connections, but with the addition of Norse Atlantic Airways to its roster this December, the island is more accessible to UK travellers than ever before.
“The destination has benefitted from the return of good air capacity, with Virgin continuing to operate daily into Montego Bay, and British Airways continuing to operate three times weekly into Kingston. What is new is that we have a new airline about to fly into Montego Bay, Norse, which will start in December, and will operate four times weekly out of London Gatwick.
“That is particularly interesting for us because as we continue to grow from this marketplace, we are the number one destination for UK travellers since last year for the first time in a long time, and we’re very proud of that. We believe that we can maintain that position if we continue to grow air capacity."
It has been a long road to recovery, but one Jamaica has taken by storm and is ready to expand its offering even further with a full host of new products and openings to welcome record-breaking numbers of travellers over the next few years.
“We have 3,000 new rooms to come over the next 12-14 months, starting with Princess Hotels with 1,000 new rooms in Negril opening in February of next year. We have the Riu Aquarelle in Falmouth that’s opening in April of next year with 650 rooms. We have UNICO that’s opening late next year with 450 rooms, and we have the Royalton Blue Diamond in Falmouth which reopens November of this year having been closed since June for refurbishing.
“There’s a lot of new products that our trade partners are very keen on because first of all, nothing sells faster than a new product, but more importantly, it gives the destination diversity in terms of the offerings that we make to the public through the travel agents.”
While new products are huge selling factors to entice people to the paradise island, it is the agents behind the selling that are responsible for making Jamaica the number one UK traveller destination.
“The trade is the business. Without the trade, there is no business. The conduit between the consumer and the destination is the trade, and in particular the travel agent. Travel agents still account for 70% of the bookings to all destinations, especially ours, and so the relationship that we have built and work to maintain is to ensure that we provide the kind of support with A) information, B) changes when changes happen, and C) incentives to ensure they are motivated to sell the destination.”
“Jamaica is paradise. Imagine leaving home and travelling for eight hours to arrive home, and when you arrive home, you have an easy entry, you have a great time, whether it’s on the beach, on one of our attractions, on a catamaran cruise, climbing the Blue Mountains, enjoying delectable food while soaking up the sun, all the while meeting some of the most beautiful and lovely people you’ll ever find in the world.”
