Jamaica recorded the fastest growth rate for visitor arrivals in the entire Caribbean from January to April 2006. This is according to Dennis Morrison, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Information and Development, who was speaking at a JIS Think Tank conference.

Morrison revealed: “we are having excellent performances just by way of comparison, with Jamaica reporting a 15.7 per cent increase in visitor arrivals in comparison to Dominican Republic, 11.4 per cent; Barbados, 4.5 per cent; Cuba, 2.8 per cent and St. Lucia with a decline of 9.6 per cent for the corresponding period”.
Morrisson attributed the growth spurt to the increase in hotel rooms and airline carriers to the island, stating that this is an indication of Jamaica’s attractiveness in an increasingly competitive market.
“One of the big reasons for these performances is that the industry is expanding with additional new and refurbished rooms that came on stream in 2005, namely, RIU Mammee Bay, Sandals Whitehouse and Sunset Jamaica Grande, and others are scheduled to be completed for the upcoming winter season,” Morrison said.
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