Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett has announced that there is a spike in its list of visitors coming from African Americans.
Bartlett made the announcement during the 29th World Travel Awards Event on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The minister said that this majority of welcomed visitors are also exploring, and spending. In acknowledging this increase in visitors coming from the African American community, the minister said it was also an enormously attractive contribution to Jamaica’s tourism.
The majority from this group of visitors are from the northeastern seaboard which includes, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. “We have never seen this level of visitors that are we seeing from that community,” the minister stated.
In continuing to note this significant addition to the tourism industry in Jamaica, the tourism minister said the expansion of this market was not accidental. “It has been coming for a while, Jamaica is seen as the most welcoming and congenial destination for African Americans in the entire region,” Bartlett added. The minister further noted that Jamaica’s diverse cultural heritage, music, cuisine, and sports have contributed to this expansion. Also adding to this expansion is the Jamaica Diaspora in the United States, Bartlett told his audience, and in the English-Speaking Caribbean, the Jamaica’s Diaspora is the largest, the minister mentioned.
Minister Bartlett also explained that with daily flights from all major airlines going into Jamaica, this puts the transportation to Jamaica as one of the best in the English-speaking Caribbean. Bartlett mentioned that despite the COVID-19 fallout, Jamaica’s tourism has still managed to draw a considerable number of visitors to the island.
