Carnival in Jamaica big win for Kingston
Published:Friday | April 28, 2023 | 1:01 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Preliminary data indicate that from April 1-20, some 26,000 visitors arrived in Kingston, suggesting many were here for activities related to Carnival in Jamaica, says the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). The numbers are so encouraging that Tourism Director Donovan White has announced plans to capitalise on marketing opportunities for 2024.
“These numbers, while just shy of what would have been achieved before the pandemic, are positive for the growth of the event and economic benefits. It also speaks to the unifying element that music can achieve with both revellers and spectators moving about seamlessly and incident-free. Carnival 2024 is expected to be even bigger,” White noted.
The accommodations sector was among the biggest beneficiaries, with the Courtleigh Hotel Group reporting full occupancy during the period. “All our Kingston hotels were fully booked, The Jamaica Pegasus and the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites,” Nicola Madden-Greig, group director of sales and marketing, told The Gleaner.
“We saw the growth of carnival as far back as 2019, which was our best year,” added Madden-Greig, explaining that they have made a major investment in the event, contributing to the successful growth of carnival, and have been working with the bands and the JTB and experiencing excellent returns.
“We are happy to see we are back to that place. We feel we can improve upon what we have now, such as getting people to book earlier, which is very important, and offering additional events, so we can lengthen the stay from weekend to one week,” said the hospitality and tourism head, who noted that the majority of the revellers came from the USA, UK and the Caribbean.
Madden-Greig, who is also president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, is batting for the same template to be used for the Independence weekend and Reggae Month celebrations, but argues this must be a public sector- and private sector-led initiative.
TREMENDOUS BENEFIT
Spanish Court Hotel’s reservations manager, Joseph Perrin, said their ADR (average daily rate) went up and the hotel benefited tremendously from Carnival. “It is important to Kingston for us to develop as a tourist destination. We need these types of festivals,” said Perrin.
The Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival and other entertainment events are helping to build up that itinerary.
Senior advisor in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright, shared that operators of Airbnb properties throughout Kingston “did phenomenally well”. He tags it as a multi-billion dollar activity which the Ministry of Tourism, its agencies and the private sector decided to work with the festival, owing to its reach.
“It has given us the potential to tap into new markets and build new partnerships. It is a critical part of our entertainment tourism strategy that takes into consideration the available assets and resources,” Seiveright stated.
Kingston, he said, is being built out as a critical hub throughout the Caribbean. In 2018, Seiveright said, Jamaica saw a 6.8 per cent increase in carnival arrivals, and more than nine per cent in 2019.