THE Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) said it has shifted marketing focus towards digital marketing, scaling back on traditional advertising, and has seen a surge in visitor arrivals justifying the move.

“It really has been a total evolution of how the destination was first presented,” said Donovan White, director of tourism, during a Jamaica Observer Business Forum last week.

In 2023, Jamaica attracted more than 4 million tourists, both stopovers and cruise visitors. Since the start of 2024 up to the second week of March, the country received 1.1 million visitors, and according to White, these numbers reflect the tourism ministry’s improved ability to convert demand searches online into actual bookings.

White noted that this transition has enabled Jamaica to reach a broader audience at a fraction of the previous cost. He shared that in 2017, potential tourists searched for Jamaica online about 250 million times. By 2019, that number had reached 843 million.

“We’ve been able to change our systems of marketing to be fully digital, fully integrated into the SEOs (search engine operators) around the world, that allow us to propagate the destination repeatedly based on where people are looking for travel,” White explained to the
Business Observer.

That digital drive is also aided by local content creators, which White said the tourism ministry works closely with.

“People are creating content for you beyond your ability to even think, and they proliferate the space. And sometimes they look awful to me, but they are exciting to someone else,” added Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

But the marketing of Jamaica’s tourism on digital platforms has also broken off into segments, bringing a broader audience to its shores. Bartlett emphasised the evolving preferences of tourists, highlighting interests such as gastronomy, shopping, and emerging influences like sustainability and resilience.

“Today, the market is saying if you have a sustainable destination, you are a great destination,” Bartlett stated, reflecting the changing dynamics of tourism marketing.

“What we’ve taken as an approach for the last five years is an approach that is focused on delivering a presentation of Jamaica that speaks to how you can experience Jamaica,” White added.

He struck down the notion that the majority of people come to Jamaica for sun, sand and sea, as local attractions, tour guides, communities, and restaurants away from all-inclusive hotels are also benefiting. Post-COVID, there was an increased demand for tours of properties, suggesting that tourists are out exploring.

Although no data has been developed to determine which of these areas more tourists come to Jamaica for, Bartlett underscored the need to delve deeper into the passion points that drive visitor traffic to guide investment decisions.

In addition, the question of Bob Marley, the Marley family and estate as a tourism marketing tool was pitched to the tourism leaders, who revealed that the tourism ministry has formed strategic partnerships, such as the collaboration with the Marley movie, aimed at leveraging the late reggae icon’s global appeal to promote tourism. And though the public may not be aware of all the marketing taking place, White asserted that the areas where it should be taking place are seeing Marley marketed to the advantage of tourism in Jamaica.

“You will not see that being executed around Jamaica or in the Jamaican space because our market is not Jamaica. Our markets are outside, in the world, and that’s where we use them. So, you may not see the strategic alliance that we’ve created with elements of the movie executive in Jamaica, but in other markets around the world, you will see our teams in various places,” White clarified.

Looking beyond traditional tourism, Bartlett revealed that Jamaica is exploring niche markets such as health and wellness tourism and psychedelics. While specific data on visitor preferences is still being studied, global trends provide insights into potential areas of growth for Jamaica’s tourism offerings.