As was said here early last week, news of an upcoming “super bumper winter tourist season” with the promise of more than one million visitors from the United States, and encouraging bookings from Europe and elsewhere, amount to “a massive statement of traveller confidence in Jamaica”.

It is also a huge boost for an economy recovering impressively from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic for which the visitor industry is a long-established cornerstone.

Which means that not only must Jamaica ensure the security of our visitors, but also their comfort and well being.

To ensure all of that there are pitfalls that must be avoided, such as horrifying gridlocks for arriving and departing passengers which assailed Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on occasions earlier this year.

As we said in April, “A bad airport experience will not only infuriate local travellers, it can upend all the efforts made by travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers, operators of villas and attractions, and other tourism industry players to woo visitors… And if visitors, in particular, start sharing that bad experience by word of mouth or… via social media, it makes it more difficult to promote Jamaica as a destination worth visiting.”

Hence our optimism at news that recent airport upgrades will lead to the availability of 100 immigration kiosks at Sangster International Airport this winter season, up from 80 previously.

Allied to that effort was the introduction, in September, of electronic declaration for incoming passengers — mostly done online prior to boarding — replacing the time-consuming, paper-based, C5 immigration form.

Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang recently observed immigration and Customs operations during a visit to the airport in Montego Bay and declared himself pleased ahead of the winter season which officially opens this week.

“So far, what is happening here is coming on nicely. It [immigration and customs] worked well … and I think we had about 13,000 passengers [in one day] — the kind of numbers you are going into the winter season with. And Christmas will test it fully when you get to 15,000, 16,000 but the system is looking good…” Dr Chang said.

Crucially, the minister observed that the system will have to be monitored “on a daily basis”.

Tourism Minister Mr Edmund Bartlett tells us that the peak arrival hours are between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.

“That is the time [predominantly] when all the international lines with the big planes arrive. In that window you are processing 60, 70 flights with eight, nine thousand people in that short window,” Mr Bartlett said.

“We would have loved to see them [flights] dispersed throughout the day and in the night, if needs be. But… it [also] means that Jamaica is now the most connected destination in the region,” he added.

Mr Bartlett, perhaps more than any other, has consistently pointed to prospects for Jamaica’s tourism growth by leaps and bounds.

And he, as much as anyone else, will be keenly aware of the need to ensure the continuing upgrades of our airports and their services to ensure the comfort and satisfaction of all who come.