SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Ministry of Tourism has reported a 13.7 per cent increase in stopover arrivals for a four-day period from January 22-25, with Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James recording 18,851 arrivals, up by 12.1 per cent over the same period in 2017.

The figures come despite the on-going state of public emergency, which took effect on January 18, to arrest crime in St James.

The ministry revealed that for the period of January 1 – 28, stopover arrivals totalled 172,380, up 6.7 per cent, when compared to the corresponding period in 2017.

“This continued growth in arrivals is proof that our tourism product remains robust and sought after by tourists worldwide. These figures mean that for the period there was 10, 855 more arrivals when compared to the same period in 2017,” said Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett.

Bartlett, who the ministry said presented the data to international stakeholders in Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, added that this growth is coming on the heels of a phenomenal 2017 performance where “Jamaica closed out its 2017 tourism year, shattering all previous records for the fast-growing industry”.

Last year was a signature year for growth in tourism, which ended with 4.3 million visitors coming to Jamaica.

The ministry said that wasn’t an ordinary record because it meant that nearly 500,000 more visitors came to Jamaica in a single year, which has never happened anywhere in this part of the Anglophone Caribbean.

It said that last year’s growth in arrivals eclipsed the total increase of the previous four years, 2012-2015, and foreign exchange earnings for the year reached approximately US$3 billion.