Bartlett: More than 100,000 new airline seats for winter tourist season

WESTERN BUREAU:

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that with more than 100,000 new airline seats secured from North America, South America and Europe, Jamaica should expect a bumper 2018 winter tourist season.

Bartlett made the announcement while delivering the keynote address at the 2018 edition of the Jamaica Product Exchange trade show (JAPEX), which was hosted by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Sunday.

"We want you to know that we are building the experiences for you, that we are tidying up our relations with our airlift partners to enable 38,000 more seats from the USA for this winter," said Bartlett. "[There will be] 42,400 more seats out of Canada, a record 12,000 more seats out of continental Europe and tonight, we have people here from France."

In regards to the situation with France, Bartlett said he along with the director of tourism, Donovan White, and a team of marketing experts will be going there soon to beef up that market.

"We are going to France to tie up an arrangement to ensure air connectivity from Paris into Montego Bay," said Bartlett. "We are excited about that."

As it relates to Russia, the minister said things are looking quite good with that country, as the first flight from that location to Montego Bay is slated for late October.

"On the 26 of October, the first flight from Russia, with love, will come back to Montego Bay, a dream liner with 414 passengers. They tell me that we are to increase the number of rooms in a certain Negril hotel because the flight was selling so well," said Bartlett.

"Congratulations to the team from continental Europe, as 7,455 more seats [will come] out of the UK (United Kingdom) and Northern Europe. It will be another exciting year when Pegas Fly flips its wings and tips down in Montego Bay, and we give them the usual formal welcome of that wonderful bath of beautiful rich Jamaican water. We are going to be excited and we feel it already."

He added, "LatAm will come in good order afterwards, and we are excited that we will see the development of new products as well."