ST JAMES, Jamaica – A new direct flight from Ireland to Jamaica will be added for summer 2016, according to the tourism Ministry.

The flight, added through Falcon Holidays and Thomson Holidays, both part of the Tourist Union International (TUI) Group, is as a result of continuous upward trends in stopover visitor arrivals from Europe.

The European Conglomerate TUI Group, has been helping to drive significant growth out of the European market, the ministry says.

Making the announcement Saturday at the 54th annual general meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill said TUI will roll out its new charter programme from Dublin, Ireland using a Thomson Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Beginning June 2016, the service will run six flights weekly with holiday packages running for two weeks, thereby adding an additional 12, 222 room nights for the destination.

“We have TUI’s assurance that should this short programme be successful they will consider expanding into the following summer,” Minister McNeill noted.

He had more good news of increased airlift out of Europe later this year. Commencing November 29, Ving, a subsidiary of Thomas Cook Nordic, will operate new service from Gothenburg, Sweden via Oslo Norway, to Montego Bay.

Also, commencing mid-December the fortnightly service, which TUI Sweden operated from Stockholm to Montego Bay last winter, will be doubled to weekly flights for the 2015/16 winter season, the release stated.

The ministry explained that the renewed thrust in Europe is bolstered by the fact that arrivals from January to April 2015 out of that market went up by 9.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year, with a total of 95,177 stopover visitors gracing Jamaica’s shores.

The Minister pointed to the fact that “these visitors stay for longer periods in small and medium sized properties, thereby helping to boost the occupancy levels of these properties.”

Overall, he told the hoteliers and their purveyors that the sector continues to perform well, even amid the challenges of a harsh global environment.

“We are building on the successes of 2014, which was another record year for stopover arrivals as we welcomed over 2 million visitors for the second consecutive year. Total arrivals for the last Winter Tourist Season stood at over 5 per cent and we expect this positive trend to continue,” Dr McNeill noted.