THE survival of Jamaica’s tourism during the novel coronavirus pandemic, and planning strategies for the industry’s future have been highlighted in a new book authored by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and university professor, Lloyd Waller.

The 291-page publication, Tourism Resilience and Recovery for Global Sustainability and Development, focuses heavily on how the pandemic virtually brought a tourism-dependent economy like Jamaica almost to its knees.

Now that full recovery is in sight and there are prospects for brighter days ahead, Bartlett has also highlighted some of the initiatives, in the short run, that will spell further positives for the industry.

In Chapter 9, ‘Saving Jamaica’s tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic’, sub-titled ‘Some reflections from my lived experiences’, Bartlett said that just before the start of the pandemic in February 2020 the country had recorded six per cent growth in stopover arrivals, with projections that by the end of the year that figure would have jumped into double-digit growth.

“The pandemic, however, began its global spread in March and by April, due to the various restrictions on domestic and international travel imposed by most countries, the tourism sector came to a complete halt, with all the airports and tourism establishments — including hotels, villas, attractions, shopping malls, and ground transportation — being forced to cease commercial operations.

“During the months of April and May 2020 there was virtually no activity in the major components of the tourism sector. This led to a steep decline in earnings from tourism for tourism operators as well as those entities that supply inputs to the tourism industry. The closure of the tourism industry resulted in the 172,000-strong tourism labour force being reduced by 70 per cent during the peak of the pandemic,” Bartlett wrote.

The minister suggested in his writing that recovery figures at this stage looked promising, and members of the tourism fraternity were upbeat.

“The first three months of 2021 were positive. The country welcomed 40,055 visitors in January, 40,076 in February, and over 69,040 in March. For the upcoming fiscal year we expect to realise growth of 122 per cent on earnings and 236 per cent in visitor arrivals, over the previous year. By the end of the year the current projection is that the island will welcome 1.043 million stopover visitors, which would constitute a 117 per cent increase over last year’s stopover arrivals,” Bartlett wrote.

The crucial cruise shipping sector, which had seen pre-pandemic growth, is showing “significant promise for rebound”, Bartlett wrote, adding that he had admonished those involved in that part of the tourism industry to be well-prepared for far greater things.

“Over the past two years the Government has spent billions of dollars upgrading and developing the ports of Ocho Rios, Falmouth, and more recently Port Royal to enhance the country’s capacity to welcome more of the world’s large cruise ships,” Bartlett noted.

“I continue to lead the ministry’s discussions with various cruise lines for home-porting of vessels, given the massive spin-off benefits from such arrangements,” Bartlett wrote.

As part of Jamaica’s ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’, Bartlett wrote, the island had set out to meet key growth targets which included five million visitors, five billion United States dollars in earnings, and 5,000 new hotel rooms by 2025.