The world of tourism is changing and stakeholders are being encouraged to adapt new trends.

At the centre of this new world of tourism is wellness, a feature which isn’t entirely new but has been given more prominence since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Tourism manager at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) Carol Straw said, “Coming out of the pandemic, people are more concerned about health, the environment, nature and how nature impacts on their health. These are things that have to be taken into consideration when developing the product.”

“One has to look at wellness from the point of view of incorporating it more completely into the product. So, most hotels would have a spa or a fitness centre but now when you go into that product you should be able to feel that wellness experience from the minute you step into the hotel, that is where the trends are going,” she continued.

She said the establishment of the resilient corridor paved the way for recovery in the industry and facilitated the health and wellness tourism focus.

“A safe lane has been created that will allow the tourism industry to reopen and thrive.”

But that doesn’t make the usual tourism experience obsolete. In fact, the Jampro tourism manager noted that “There will always be persons who are interested in the traditional product as we know it but a new point of view is emerging.”

Features of the world of tourism has emerged in other countries taking different forms and strategies. For example, Barbados introduced a ‘Welcome Stamp’ visa which is a one-year residency permit that allows remote employees to live and work from the country.

Similarly, in Costa Rica, national holidays were temporarily moved to Mondays to boost domestic tourism by extending weekends.

Straw noted that the new paradigm offers significant opportunities for developers and innovators to cash in on new types of business.

“There are great opportunities for persons who want to do facilities for digital nomads, because that’s a new group that has emerged out of the pandemic. One thing the pandemic has taught us is that with technology you can work from anywhere, you can sit on a beach and run your meeting,” she said.

Similarly, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report earlier this year highlighted that, “With social distancing and health and hygiene protocols likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, touchless service delivery and investments in digital technology could be a bridge to recovery.”

Another emerging trend is the desire for more bespoke tourism experiences.

“Because of the pandemic, people are not looking for crowded situations right now so, even products that are nature based have a good opportunity for development at this time. This is literally their moment to rise and shine. Rather than having 100 people to go look at a plantation tour you may tweak it and say let’s do a wellness lunch or dinner in the plantation and you have maybe 20 people,” said Straw.

In the meantime, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the island’s efforts to attract more visitors are starting to pay dividends. He said 7,000 airline passengers arrived at the Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in St James on December 11, which he stressed is a single-day record since the reopening of air travel on June 15, 2020. He said the rise in airline passengers is a signal that the winter tourist season will be active and that the tourism sector will recover faster than initially predicted.

Visitor arrivals are projected to come in at 1.8 million by the end of this year, up from 1.3 million last year but still far off from the 4.2 million recorded in 2019.