MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks is confident there will be good news when the Americans next review their travel advisory to Jamaica within a few months.

“We have engaged with the State Department to look at reviewing the travel advisory. That engagement has continued, and we expect a positive change in the next review period,” Marks told journalists Saturday on the occasion of Avelo Airlines’ inaugural non-stop service between Hartford, Connecticut, and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

The ambassador was a passenger on the flight.

In January, the US State Department issued a level three advisory in which it advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Jamaica because of concerns about high crime levels and inadequate access to health care.

At that time Marks called for the advisory to be rescinded as she felt aspects of it distorted the reality on the ground in the tourism-dependent country. During the same period, critics maintained that the tone of the advisory made it stand out from the level three advisory that had been in place since 2022.

In the Americans’ July advisories, a level three warning remained in effect for Jamaica but, according to Marks, there was some softening in the language. With a downward drift in the numbers for major crimes, she is optimistic there will be a change next year.

“We have good, strong statistics to show that we have a 22 per cent decrease in crime, and we have been sharing all the progress we are making in the areas they have expressed concerns. We expect a more positive review in the next review period in January,” she said.

“We are also improving and increasing medical services, which is another concern, to have more access and really to address the concerns that were shared by the State Department,” she added.

The ambassador noted that her team in the US has been focused on getting word out on the ongoing efforts to address the concerns.

“We have also been going around the country speaking with various organisations, groups, doing multiple appearances on all the positives about Jamaica,” she said. “We are doing as much as we can in terms of ensuring that persons are aware that Jamaica is a safe destination.”

She pointed out that with Jamaica welcoming more than three million visitors last year, there were five incidents involving tourists — and most of them happened outside resort areas.

“We are not ignoring any concerns; we are addressing them in all areas and arenas,” Marks assured.