KINGTON, Jamaica — Jamaica has been listed as one of the top five trending destinations to travel to in January 2019 by international travel website Kayak, says the Ministry of Tourism.

In a recent Kayak report, Jamaica landed at number five among the top ten trending destinations with a 30 per cent increase in year-over-year searches for New Year’s by travellers seeking to visit, the ministry revealed in a statement this morning.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said this positioning augurs well for the country’s international appeal by visitors and speaks to “The safe, secure and seamlessness of our tourism products and offerings.

“This is an indicator that Jamaica’s tourism remains robust and sought after and we are committed to ensuring that our visitors and locals alike are safe as they enjoy what the island has to offer.”

Kayak.com, sometimes styled as KAYAK, is a popular travel website operated by Booking Holdings.

KAYAK’s website and mobile apps are currently available in over 18 languages and more than 30 local markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, India, China, and France among many other countries, the ministry shared.

Bartlett added that Jamaica is already poised for another record year of growth in arrivals and earnings.

“I believe that this will only add to our projections. For the first six months of 2018, we recorded a 4.7 per cent increase in arrivals to bring total arrivals for the period to a record near 3million and by the end of the year earnings are expected to reach US3.3 billion dollars.

“We are working aggressively through our agencies to improve and market the product and offerings so as to achieve our 5X5X5 growth targets and attract 5 million tourists by 2021; generate US$5 billion in earnings; increase total direct jobs to 125,000 and add 15,000 rooms,” the minister said.