Jamaica falls seven spots in travel, tourism ranking
Published:Wednesday | September 18, 2019 | 12:23 AM
Jamaica’S standing in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 fell by seven spots to 76th out of 140, according to the biennial report released this month by the World Economic Forum.
The report tests the competitiveness of the ease with which locals and foreigners travel in and out of the island, in addition to the country as a tourism destination.
Spain, France, and Germany maintained their leading positions in the global ranking. On the other end, Yemen trailed the world, followed by Chad, Liberia and Burundi, respectively.
The report comes days after Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett lauded the island for increasing its rank in another global tourism report. That report, by overseas-based Bloom Consulting, showed Jamaica moving up five places to enter the top 10 tourism destinations in the Americas for 2019-20.
Contrastingly, the World Economic Forum report indicated that Jamaica scored within the top 10 worst in the world in terms of health and hygiene, price competitiveness, environmental sustainability, safety, and security.
The final country rank comprises four sub-indices, 14 pillars, and 90 individual indicators. The four sub-indices include enabling environment, travel, and tourism policy and enabling conditions, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources.
The World Economic Forum think tank, based in Switzerland, publishes reports such as the Global Competitiveness Report. It does so with partners in countries around the world, including the Mona School of Business in Jamaica. The Financial Gleaner sought but did not get comments from the School of Business.
The report indicated, however, that the Jamaican government places great emphasis on tourism. “Jamaica ranks second globally, thanks to government prioritisation, spending on travel and tourism, at third globally, and effectiveness in tourism marketing, at sixth globally,” stated the report.
The United States led the Americas, with Jamaica at 14th in the region.
Bettered most peers
The island, however, bettered most peers in the Caribbean, except the Dominican Republic, which stood at 73rd.
The report indicated that Trinidad and Tobago, which ranked 87th, fell 14 positions, but it acknowledged that that country had improved in the area of health and hygiene.
Four countries that were covered in the 2017 report – Barbados, Bhutan, Gabon, and Madagascar – are not covered in the latest report on account of insufficient data, stated the study’s author. In 2017, Barbados ranked 58th. In late 2017, Fly Jamaica Airlines, an international carrier, ceased operations, and that contributed to a reduction in the island’s air connectivity. In 2019, Jam Air Link Express, a new domestic airline, emerged, offering cross-country flights.
The 2017 report was released prior to the halt of operations at Fly Jamaica.
At that time, Fly Jamaica CEO and founder Ronald Reece told the Financial Gleaner that Jamaica remained strong as a destination because of its centrality to the US and its competitive advantage with regard to its beaches, food, music, and culture.
The inaugural Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report was done in 2007.
The World Economic Forum stated that the report provides a “strategic benchmarking tool” for businesses and governments to develop the travel and tourism sector.
“The report provides insight into the strengths and areas for development of each country to enhance its industry competitiveness, and a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue at the country level to formulate appropriate policies and actions,” says the study.