KINGSTON, Jamaica – Preliminary data for January and February 2023 show an increase in visitor arrivals and expenditure, relative to the corresponding period last year.

Director General for the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr Wayne Henry, said that stopover arrivals rose by 55.5 per cent to 457,996 visitors for the period.

Additionally, he reported that cruise passenger arrivals increased to 300,237 from 110 ship calls, up from 49,870 visitors from 41 vessels for the corresponding timeline in 2022.

“Total visitor expenditure increased to US$761.6 million relative to US$276 million in the corresponding period [last year],” Henry further advised.

He was speaking during the PIOJ’s semi-virtual quarterly media briefing on May 30.

Henry said the ‘Hotels and Restaurants’ subsector of the Services Industry continues to benefit from increased travel in light of continued growth in Jamaica’s main visitor source markets, coupled with effective marketing strategies.

He indicated that the subsector grew by an estimated 30.8 per cent for the January to March 2023 quarter.

The out-turn was the largest of the five subsectors under the Services Industry, all of which expanded.

This enabled the industry to grow by an estimated 3.8 per cent over the March 2023 quarter.

Henry said the ‘Transport, Storage and Communication’ subsector recorded the second highest out-turn of 4.3 per cent, which was partly due to an estimated increase in the ‘Transport and Storage’ component.

The growth reflected in the air transport component was credited to increased passenger movements, up 46.5 per cent.

This out-turn was driven by both arrivals, up 46.4 per cent, and departures, up 46.1 per cent.

“This was associated with the continued strengthening of the travel and tourism sectors,” Henry pointed out.

The Services Industry’s estimated out-turn enabled Jamaica’s economy to grow by approximately 2.7 per cent, according to the PIOJ, despite the Goods Producing Industry contracting by 0.7 per cent.

– JIS