Jamaica boasts strong summer numbers

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has announced that stopover visitor arrivals are showing a 6.4% increase for the period May 1 to Aug. 7 over the same period last year. This represents more than 32,000 additional arrivals. In outlining the numbers, the tourism official explained that “based on preliminary figures stopover arrivals for the May 1 to Aug. 7 period amounted to 539,957. This compares very favourably to the figures for the same period in 2011 when there were 507,298 stopover arrivals.”Citing that this represents an increase of 32,659 additional visitors, McNeill expressed pleasure in the fact that the industry continues to register growth amid harsh economic conditions. “This increase will certainly allow players in the industry to remain optimistic that the tourism sector is poised for further growth in 2012 and will provide a welcome boost to the economy,”said McNeill. He noted that one of the key factors contributing to the growth is “aggressive marketing, through which we have been able to drive the inflow of visitors to the island.”(http://www.visitjamaica.com)