Jamaica poised to generate record US$3.3b in tourism earnings for 2018

Jamaica is poised to generate a record US$3.3 billion in tourism earnings for 2018, according to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who says that up to December 14 revenue inflows had increased by nine per cent, with visitor arrivals up 5.3 per cent over the corresponding period in 2017.

"That means that the US$3.3 billion will be a new benchmark for earnings in tourism in Jamaica. When we do the math, we would see that in two years we would have had US$800,000 of additional earnings," the minister said.

He was speaking at the Kingston Craft Extravaganza, themed 'A Fi Wi Handiwuk Dis' in The Breezeway, along Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, last Thursday.

The event, hosted by the Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo), showcased locally made products for sale by craft manufacturers and vendors in Kingston.

The extravaganza, one of three that TPDCo will host islandwide during the Christmas season, is aimed at introducing and marketing new products that are made by participants in the agency's new craft stakeholders training programmes.

Bartlett commended TPDCo for implementing the initiative, noting that "each year, we meet in this fashion and we highlight these cultural assets - the products of the creativity of our people.

"In doing so, we are celebrating who we really are, because it is these products which make the point about the authenticity of the experience that we offer to the world," he said.