Stopover arrivals decline in May
Published:Friday | September 23, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Steven Jackson, Business Reporter
Stopover tourism arrivals dipped 2.1 per cent in May to some 146,600 due to fewer European, United States (US) and Canadian visitors, than a year earlier, according to just released data.
Evelyn Smith, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA), said she expected the decline based on correspondence with members.
"It is not surprising. Feedback from a cross-section of our members indicated that they were having a soft May," said Smith, in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.
Stopover arrivals from the US dropped 1.6 per cent to total some 102,420, Europeans arrivals fell 12.6 per cent to 19,120 and Canadian visitors dropped 0.6 per cent to 17,730, according to data from the Jamaica Tourist Board.
"What's going on in the world is affecting us," Smith said, referring to the rising fiscal deficits and debt affecting the island's main tourism markets of the US and Europe. Interestingly, while core markets declined, stopover arrivals from Latin America and the Caribbean increased 10.3 per cent and 27.7 per cent, respectively.
"The entire Latin America market is in our backyard. We need to tap into it," said Smith, adding that adequate airlift remained a challenge. She expects 2011 tourism arrivals to increase at best by one to two per cent over last year.
"Unless we have a big uptick in the November and December months, we will end the year flat over last year," she said.
For the January to May period, stopover arrivals increased by 3.9 per cent, with some 879,300 compared to 846,700 in 2010.
The JHTA said it would try to increase its tour contacts at the Jamaica Product Exchange trade show, which ended in Montego Bay earlier this week and which has been described as the "single most important business generator for Jamaica's tourism product".
Wholesalers and tour operators were scheduled to meet face to face with close to 150 of Jamaica's leading tourism suppliers to conduct business negotiations. This year showcased the largest contingent of buyers from emerging and established markets.