Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has called for a new investment thrust to help the industry recover from the fallout caused by the 40 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) loss brought about by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Bartlett’s call comes against the fact that prior to the pandemic outbreak in 2019, tourism accounted for 10 per cent of global GDP, provided 11 per cent of jobs and more than 20 per cent of foreign direct investment, especially in highly tourism-dependent regions like the Caribbean.

However, in 2021, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimated tourism’s contribution to GDP had fallen to six per cent and jobs down 333 million from approximately 400 million. Tourism expenditure was US$9 trillion resulting from 1.4 billion tourists travelling across the world for vacations.

In one of his several presentations to major tourism and travel stakeholders at the International Tourism Investment Conference held in the margins of the annual World Travel Market in London on Wednesday, Bartlett indicated that more than 70 million jobs were lost and argued that investment will assist greatly in restoring and creating new ones.
Source: Jamaica Observer