Always upbeat about the number of foreign arrivals travelling to local shores, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has said that domestic tourism remains an equally important part of the industry.

“Domestic tourism is valuable to us; it was an important part of maintaining stability during COVID, though the reality of our situation is that the size of our domestic market doesn’t allow us to put the focus on it as much,” Bartlett said during a recent Jamaica Observer Business Forum.

The minister, in underscoring the area as important, said that the ministry will continue “to work with our domestic partners to ensure that access to Jamaica is available for all Jamaicans”.

Lauded for its role in keeping the sector somewhat alive during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which forced a shutdown and shelved the influx of tourist arrivals, domestic tourism was what kept the doors of a few resorts open, though not at levels that saw the usual 70-100 per cent occupancy or impressive average daily rates (ADR).

Noting that while the achievements of domestic tourism may not be as promoted and celebrated as those for international arrivals and spend, which, up to the end of the first two months of this year surpassed one million arrivals and over U$1 billion in spend, efforts behind domestic initiatives, Bartlett said, remains ongoing, though traction behind its progress rests with the demand and take-up of the opportunities created.

Through various campaigns, including the more recent ‘Rediscover Jamaica’, tourism stakeholders over the years have devised packages and promotions aimed at encouraging locals to experience the island. A move backed by slashed rates and attractive discounts.

“We want to ensure that we create a sense of ownership, a sense of understanding by Jamaicans. We want them to understand that they can be part of the tourism product,” Director of Tourism Donovan White had said following the launch of a campaign in 2020.

In contributing to natural infrastructural build-up, Bartlett said the sector, through its many agencies and partners, have also remained active partners in providing monetary and other support to related activities.

“We are putting money into beach programmes and we have for this year added over $200 million to the budget for beach development among a number of other areas. The prime minister is to also make some announcements concerning the build-out of substantial sea parks in every parish,” he stated.

Largely driven by factors such as holidays or long weekends, domestic tourism refers to the travel of individuals or groups within their own country for business or leisure. Its activities involves staycations at resorts as well and visits to tourist attractions and engaging in outdoor activities across different parts of the island.

Considered ‘big businesses in some countries, domestic tourism is said to bring significant earnings to these sectors and economies. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in regarding it a key driver of tourism, said it sometimes accounts for a significant portion of tourism spend globally, especially in practising countries.

Countries such as the US, UK, India, South Africa, and China are said to be among some of those big on domestic tourism.

“The domestic tourism industry is a huge economic contributor in many destinations, especially in countries that are large or where the local people do not often have the cash to travel internationally,” stated global expert and author of the Tourism Teacher blog Dr Hailey Stainton.