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Bartlett announces increased visitor arrivals for 2008
Friday, January 09, 2009
Jamaica last year welcomed 1.767 million visitors, an increase over the 1.7 million recorded the previous year that Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett yesterday attributed to intense advertising and promotion of the island overseas.
Addressing the Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, a beaming Bartlett said the arrivals yielded more than US$2 billion for the country.
"This performance is the best in the entire Caribbean," he said, adding that the availability of airlift has given Jamaica an edge over its Caribbean neighbours. In fact, he said, Jamaica has not seen any airline contract out its route, suspend or indicate that it will not be flying here. Instead, there has been increased airlift into the island.
He said that Virgin Atlantic will be adding additional flights to the island this summer and an agreement has been reached with a major airline out of America, which he declined to name just now, to start flying to Jamaica soon.
Bartlett admitted that this year could prove to be one of the most challenging for the tourism sector. However, he said the industry has already intensified its marketing thrust.
The new year started with a major promotion at the Port Authority Centre in Manhattan, New York earlier this week where Jamaica was displayed on posters and banners.
Bartlett also said that starting next week Jamaica will be displayed on all yellow cabs and on "dollar buses" that operate in New York.
"That effort was to say to the tri-state area that Jamaica is the place to go when you are cold," Bartlett said.
Air Jamaica, he said, was also offering special packages which were well received by persons who spontaneously booked vacations to Jamaica.
In addition, the tourism minister said Jamaica is being promoted on over 40 channels in the United States and plans are already underway to increase advertising in states with large numbers of Jamaican migrants.
The intention this year, according to Bartlett, is to mitigate the impact of the global financial downturn on the sector as well as to see additional growth.
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