Bartlett: Tourist arrivals to reach 4 million; earnings to top US$3b

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says he's expecting tourist arrivals to reach 4 million this year as earnings from the sector top US$3 billion.

Speaking yesterday at the media launch of the 2017 Tourism Service Excellence Awards Programme at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston, Bartlett said the island continues to have record-breaking arrivals, welcoming 3.3 million visitors during the first nine months of the year.

He says this is a 9.5 per cent increase when compared to the same period last year.

The Tourism Minister says gross foreign exchange earnings for the first 10 months of the year was US$2.34 billion, which is a 10.8 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2016.

With two months left in the year, he says earnings could easily reach the $3 billion mark.

Bartlett says he expects arrivals to reach $4 million in the first week of December.

He attributes the strong performance of the tourism sector to the warmth of the Jamaican people, additional room capacity, and increased airlift.