SMOOTH SAILING

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaica’s cruise shipping industry, which was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, is rebounding strongly, welcoming nearly 900,000 passengers last year and forecasting to welcome 1.4 million this year.

This was revealed by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett during his Sectoral Debate presentation on Tuesday.

Bartlett credits pent-up demand for the industry’s buoyancy, projecting the trend will continue throughout 2023.

“The global cruise industry has made a remarkable recovery in 2022 and Jamaica has also experienced an uptick in cruise passengers,” he stated.

“I am proud to announce that Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has committed to increasing the number of passengers to Jamaica in 2023, while strengthening its training partnership with the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU),” he added.

The tourism minister noted that the resurgence of cruise shipping has triggered a significant increase in interest in homeporting. In fact, he noted that tour operator company TUI is considering a second vessel to homeport in Port Royal, east Kingston, while German cruise line Aida Cruises is continuing to homeport in Montego Bay.

“As a result, Jamaica’s homeporting opportunities have expanded, and we have seen a rise from 25 to 40 per cent in pre-/post-cruise extension visits,” Bartlett said.

He revealed that the destination – which earned about US$3.7 billion from welcoming 3.3 million cruise and stopover visitors in 2022, representing a 117 per cent increase over the previous year – has also secured a historic number of airlifts.

“I am thrilled to share our destination’s positive progress and growth in improving airlift and connectivity. The last financial year has witnessed an unprecedented increase in flight numbers with 20,519 flights, compared to 14,628 in the previous year; an impressive addition of 5,891 flights or 1,137,668 additional seats. This tremendous growth is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all stakeholders in the industry,” Bartlett remarked.

HIGH DEMAND

The tourism minister attributed the high demand and popularity of the destination for the addition of new routes by eminent airlines.

“These figures demonstrate the high demand and popularity of our destination, which has resulted in the addition of new routes by prestigious carriers such as American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Arajet, and Edelweiss Airlines. Already Jamaica has secured 1.3 million air seats for the first quarter of 2023,” he said.

According to him, the surge in visitor arrivals has been met with ambitious and proactive capital expenditure programmes at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. These programmes, he said, seek to enhance and expand the internal facilities of the airports as well as support runway and apron expansion and rehabilitation works.

The minister highlighted that more locals are getting a share of the tourism pie, “most notably through the Airbnb accommodation subsector”.

“Approximately 29 per cent of the 2.6 million stopover tourists visiting our beautiful island in 2022 would have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique experiences provided by our sharing economy,” Bartlett revealed. “This is a trend that we should all welcome and embrace because it means that more Jamaicans with homes, apartments and villas are contributing to the value chain of local tourism. This not only broadens the range of industry participants but also provides a larger slice of the pie for a greater number of Jamaicans.”

But he bemoaned that since the shutdown of the sector in March 2020, the country has experienced a massive exodus of workers, who had to find new roles outside the industry, causing the ministry to conduct a labour market study to address current and future issues within the sector.

“The study will assess the hiring arrangements, salaries, benefits, skill sets, and training requirements for various positions in the sector. The study will also provide recommendations for intervention by the Ministry of Tourism and its public bodies,” he disclosed.

He also emphasised that the advancement of technology has greatly transformed the travel sector and encouraged the workforce and potential tourism workers “to prepare for the change”.

“The post-COVID industry requires a diverse range of talents, including those in fields like nuclear science, robotics, and nanotechnology. The future of work in tourism will significantly transform the sector, as machine intelligence and the Internet of Things will revolutionise the way basic services are provided,” Bartlett added.

He argued that this transformation is expected to eliminate 70 per cent of informal activities in tourism that pay lower remuneration, paving the way for more skilled and higher-paying job opportunities.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com