Hotel bookings are on the rise and so too are costume sales, both indicators that point to a bubbly experience for revellers and stakeholders for Carnival in Jamaica 2024.

This year’s event is also shaping up to gather the largest reveller and spectator turnout since the return of Carnival Jamaica in 2022, but the numbers are still expected to track below that of 2019’s Carnival before the outbreak of COVID-19.

Large Carnival in Jamaica partner, Campari, is crediting much of this year’s success to something simple, yet effective – planning ahead – a strategy that not only aids in maximising stakeholders’ productivity but also makes revellers’ preparation for the week-long activities less troublesome.

In recent years Carnival partners were faced with roadblocks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that hindered proper execution of the highly-anticipated annual event.

“Our partners, Xodus and Yard Mas, were able to execute band launches October and November last year, respectively, and that has allowed prospective tourists the requisite time to plan and save to attend Carnival,” communications manager at J Wray and Nephew, a subsidiary of the Campari Group, Dominic Bell told the Jamaica Observer.

In 2020, supporters of the annual Carnival in Jamaica celebrations had to find other ways to entertain themselves after it was announced that carnival events would move from the original date in April to Sunday, October 25, due to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus.

But it was rescheduled again from October 25, 2020 to April 11, 2021 before the 2021 staging was also declared postponed. Carnival in Jamaica is estimated to have an economic impact of about $4.6 billion each year, and so with the second postponement, the losses doubled.

The annual event went on as planned in 2022. Still, with uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 still lingering, revellers – particularly those travelling from overseas – shied away from the event, which caused a significant falloff in numbers. The reduced turnout also dealt a heavy blow to the wider community of people that taps into opportunities created by Carnival week, such as small vendors, food trucks, transport and Airbnb operators.

Carnival in Jamaica was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2017 and is used as the umbrella brand for all carnival activities during the carnival period, making it a national product. This year’s carnival season began with promoters – Xodus, GenXS, and Yard Mas – hosting launch parties in February. The season will culminate with Road March Day, better known as “Carnival Sunday”, on April 7, 2024.

The calendar of events includes Soaked, I love Soca Jamaica, RYTZ featuring Kez the Band Live in Concert, TailGate, Remedy, Xodus Fete Gala, GenXS Jouvert Fete, and Road March.

In a round-table business forum hosted by the Jamaica Observer, Director of Tourism Donovan White said the number of revellers that came out to enjoy the week-long festivities ticked up last year, and this year it’s expected to rise even further.

“This year I’m already told that rooms are going really fast. Based on the numbers we are seeing for the booking for Kingston during that week, from April 3 to 9, the numbers are up compared to last year. I can’t say yet what the full out-turn is going to be, but the numbers are up year on year and that is a great indication that we are growing again,” White said.

That largely represents international guests coming to the island for the event, but Bell also confirmed that based on discussions with promoters, the turnout of locals continues to trend upwards.

“Last year we got roughly 100,000 locals for Carnival, majority being long-time revellers, but we are also attracting Carnival newbies. Additionally, we had upwards of 10,000 on the road across all the Carnival bands last year,” he said.

“Our data says we will definitely increase that number for this year,” Bell added.

Bell added that over the final week to the run-up of the road march event, Campari will be pushing bigger and bolder messages than it did last year, using both digital and traditional media platforms.

During the week of April 1-7 roughly 10 events are slated to take place. Last year Campari introduced a new event called the Campari Boulevard on Knutsford Boulevard in Kingston. It promises to deliver a “superb” experience again this year in Downtown Kingston.

“Campari Boulevard is done by Campari and our two promoting partners. This event is going to be the largest viewing party for Carnival in Jamaica. Its free of charge and within a week we should begin the distribution of e-tickets,” Bell said.

Dubbed a culture yard, the Campari Boulevard experience allows for guests to dine on Jamaican food, vibe to dancehall and soca music, entertainment as well as the opportunity to get premium views of the road march.

Like the promoters who earn from the sale of customes, Campari earns from Carnival in Jamaica through the sale of its liquors. But the liquor company also sees the mass event as a great opportunity to promote and introduce the public to its mixed liquors.

“In addition to our PR and media advertising programme mentioned, there should be a domino effect of increased patronage per event leading into the road march. Our ‘Drink Responsibly’ messaging will also be bold on all advertising and promotion material, in addition to hydration stations at sponsored events,” Bell said.