ST JAMES, Jamaica — Jamaica Tourist Board’s ‘Rediscover Jamaica’ campaign is being hailed as a major success in helping the tourism sector as it seeks to rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In highlighting the positive contribution of the campaign, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said it “has been a great success, with some hotels reporting up to 50 per cent to 60 per cent occupancy from local bookings”.

The minister disclosed this recently as he welcomed the reopening of the 49-suite Zoetry hotel in Montego Bay, following a seven-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bartlett expressed confidence that “this initiative will continue to reduce the impact caused by the fallout from a decline in international tourism receipts and ensure continued buoyancy of the sector until some semblance of normalcy returns”.

He also noted that currently Jamaica is enjoying the highest booking rate in the region with more bookings directly rather than through travel agents. If current levels of interest are maintained, “we are potentially looking at over one million visitors by year end, which would be a fairly impressive achievement, given the current environment,” Bartlett said.

Regarding investments, he said investors continue to show confidence in the Jamaican market, adding that 90 per cent of previously planned projects are still on target, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The minister said among those slated to come on-stream are a 1700-room hotel in St James, 2,000 rooms in Green Island, Hanover, and tourism development programmes for Kingston and Port Royal.

“This show of confidence in Jamaica by investors has helped to boost our image as a leading tourist destination,” the minister said as he noted that these investments are creating job opportunities and further fuelling the expansion and diversification of the tourism product.