Two millionth visitor arrives today
Published:Sunday | December 29, 2013 | 12:00 AM
The two millionth stopover visitor for 2013 is expected to arrive in Montego Bay, St James, today on an American Airlines flight coming out of Miami, United States.
It marks the first time that Jamaica has welcomed as much as two million stopover visitors in a calendar year, the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment said, and comes at a time when the Jamaican economy has been experiencing minimal growth.
It means that Jamaica will receive at least 13,915 more stopover visitors than last year, an increase of 0.7 per cent. That is).
According to the Economic and Social Survey 2012 published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Jamaica received 1,986,085 stopover visitors in 2012, a growth rate of 1.8 per cent over 2011.
The number of arrivals has been increasing steadily since 2008 when 1,767,271 arrived. More than 63 per cent of the 2012 stopover visitors came from the United States. That compared to a total of 1,951,752 in 2011 and 1,921,678 in 2010.
The numbers compare to 1,320,083 cruise passengers who arrived in 2012, an increase of 17.3 per cent over the previous year, according to the PIOJ report.
The two millionth stopover visitor, who is expected to arrive at 3:30 p.m., will be welcomed on arrival by Dr Wykeham McNeill, minister of tourism and entertainment; John Lynch, director of tourism; and Glendon Harris, mayor of Montego Bay.