Jamaica has welcomed approximately 2.3 million visitors since the start of 2025, generating a record-breaking US$2.4 billion in tourism earnings.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett disclosed the figures while reporting that the industry grew by two percent in the first quarter of the year, contributing to a one percent increase in Jamaica’s overall economic performance during that period.
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“After Hurricane Beryl and all the disruptions—travel advisories, political and geopolitical issues—we are back on the growth path, and that’s going to continue,” Bartlett stated, emphasizing the sector’s resilience and renewed momentum despite the challenges faced in 2024.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 11th ‘Christmas in July’ trade show, held Thursday at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
Looking ahead, Bartlett anticipates a significant increase in tourism earnings for the current quarter compared to the same period last year, largely due to the strong rebound from the effects of Hurricane Beryl.
“I’m worried about how big the growth is going to look for this quarter because… you’re comparing a Beryl period to now, a normal period. But that’s how growth goes, because you’re measuring against another period. The good news is that you’re back to where you were in 2023,” he said.
Bartlett also encouraged the 180 exhibitors participating in the trade show—who showcased a wide array of Jamaican-made products—to take advantage of the sector’s rapid growth. He noted that nearly three million stopover arrivals have created a robust market that local entrepreneurs are encouraged to serve.
“A new demand has been created for goods and services that must be supplied by you; and if it is not supplied by you, it is going to have to be imported. If it is imported, then we are going to have what we call leakage. That is to say, the [earnings] that [have] come from tourism will leave by the same plane that brings the visitors or the same ship that brings the cruise passenger. We want the money to stay here,” he explained.
The two-day ‘Christmas in July’ trade show, which concluded on Friday, offered local producers and creatives the opportunity to showcase their goods and network with potential buyers from the tourism industry, corporate Jamaica, and international organizations.
The event is an initiative of the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), in partnership with various government agencies and private sector stakeholders.
