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Int’l celebrities boost Kingston’s tourism numbers

Published:Monday | July 10, 2023 | 12:16 AM
American actress Kerry Washington is greeted by Ayesha Laing, one of her many fans in Jamaica, during the Kingston Creative Art Walk monthly festival themed ‘We Locking Down Church Street’ in Kingston onJune 25, 2023.
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American actress Kerry Washington is greeted by Ayesha Laing, one of her many fans in Jamaica, during the Kingston Creative Art Walk monthly festival themed ‘We Locking Down Church Street’ in Kingston onJune 25, 2023.

RENOWNED ACTRESS and international film-maker Kerry Washington’s recent visit to Kingston Creative’s Art Walk on Water Lane, downtown Kingston, coincided with the island’s capital being named the fastest-growing individual destination in the Caribbean this summer, according to a recent report from ForwardKeys, a leading international travel-analytics firm.

Washington, whose mother, Valerie, is Jamaican, visited the Kingston Creative Art Walk, highlighting the island’s rich and vibrant culture as part of her documentary project on Jamaica. The international star, who played the role of political-crisis ‘fixer’, Olivia Pope, on the American TV series, Scandal, also called on Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who said he was deeply moved by Washington’s “passion for authenticity and her commitment to portraying the essence of Jamaica with genuine reverence”.

Kingston counts Washington as a notable visitor among other celebrities such as Burna Boy, Chance the Rapper, Omarion, Cardi B and husband Offset, as well as Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore.

Senior advisor and strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright, said that despite heavy competition globally, Kingston’s arrivals are set to increase by nearly 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, according to analysis of forward airline tickets for international arrivals by respected analytics firm ForwardKeys.

He added in a release that Kingston’s numbers surpass other popular destinations such as Nassau, Bahamas, which experienced an impressive 18 per cent growth.

“The massive rise in demand is reflected in Jamaica securing 1.4 million airline seats for the summer travel season, representing a 16 per cent increase over the previous record set in 2019. Everybody sees these celebrities posting on social media about Kingston, resulting in the city surging in numbers,” Seiveright pointed out.

“Notably, the United States of America, Jamaica’s main source market, has locked in 1.2 million of these seats. The load factors for summer flights are also reaching nearly 90 per cent, indicating strong passenger occupancy,” Seiveright added, pointing out that, “Jetblue alone has scheduled up to five flights per day between New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport and Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport and four flights per day between Fort Lauderdale and Kingston this summer”.