ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — The much anticipated winter tourist season, which officially starts in another two weeks, will be significantly boosted by some 60,000 visitors courtesy of Delta Vacations and the Mexico headquartered, Turissimo Excursions.

The two destination management companies, have facilitated a partnership where Jamaica will be receiving a number of weekly additional Delta Airlines flights from Atlanta, Georgia.

The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, on December 1, where Turissimo’s locally based representatives were on hand to greet the first set of visitors.

“We have opted to bring in a flight with 175 passengers as a prelude of what is to come,” Turissimo’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Sal Ramos said.

“This is indeed a special day for Jamaica. We are the official representatives of Delta Vacations in Jamaica and our job is to ensure full visitor satisfaction. We are also closely aligned to Tropical Tours as it relates to ground transportation and taking the visitors on organised tours to attractions across the island,” he added.

Ramos noted that his company is fully aware of the charge from Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, regarding “destination assurance”, noting that “we are known for maintaining high standards in places like the Dominican Republic and Cancun and the same thing will be applied here in Jamaica”.

Ramos added that the relationship with Delta Vacations can only blossom into something bigger, saying Jamaica is a very popular tourist getaway spot, which has the potential to be one of the first call destinations in the western hemisphere.

“Jamaica has some of the best attractions and some of the best hotels. Once the guests do their bookings through Delta Vacations, we do the rest as it relates to taking them to and from the hotels and also on fully escorted tours and other leisure activities,” he stated.

He added that Turissimo is fully complemented by a local staff made up of a number of Jamaican workers who have demonstrated “time and time again” a level of commitment that “is second to none”.

For his part, owner of Tropical Tours and Director at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Fred Smith said he anticipates a very good winter season for Jamaica, adding that all the hard work and effective marketing is now starting to bring dividends.

“We are all excited at the prospects ahead. We are happy to be working with Turissimo and Delta Vacations and as you can see things have already started with these 175 visitors that came in,” Smith said.

He added that while Delta Airlines does its regular flights to Jamaica, Delta Vacations, a subsidiary of the airline, does tour packages where the visitor experience and places to visit are planned in advance of arrival in Jamaica.

“We are part of the execution team… the designated ground transportation service company,” he added.

Smith further informed that he expects Jamaica to experience a lot of goodwill resulting from the Turissimo and Delta Vacations partnership.

“The possibilities are endless. I don’t think we have even begun to scratch the surface of what is possible,” he stated.