Jamaica on strong growth path with over 4.5 million visitors forecast for 2025
Published:Friday | May 23, 2025 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jamaica is on track to welcome more than 4.5 million visitors in 2025, with tourism earnings projected to reach US$4.62 billion, continuing the island’s impressive post-pandemic growth trajectory.
Delivering the latest forecast during a presentation at Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday, Philip Rose, deputy director of tourism for the Americas, outlined the island’s robust performance and its strategic focus on community impact.
“In 2024, Jamaica welcomed 2.9 million stopover visitors and 1.2 million cruise passengers,” said Rose. “That number is expected to climb in 2025 to just over three million stopovers and 1.4 million cruise passengers, culminating in total arrivals of 4.5 million.”
By 2026, the country is targeting 3.4 million stopovers, 1.6 million cruise passengers, and earnings of US$5 billion, aligning with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett’s growth strategy.
“While we celebrate heads in beds and bums in seats, at the core of our efforts is who we do it for, the jerk chicken vendor, the market lady, the bellman. Tourism must benefit our people,” said Rose.
With the bulk of arrivals coming by air, Rose emphasised the importance of increasing airlift capacity. For summer 2025, Jamaica expects 1.4 million airline seats, a nine per cent increase over the previous year. New and expanded routes include American Airlines from Miami to Ian Fleming International Airport, St. Mary; Avelo Airlines, new service from Raleigh-Durham and Connecticut to Montego Bay; Caribbean Airlines: Fort Lauderdale to Kingston and Montego Bay and LATAM: Lima, Peru to Montego Bay, three times weekly.
Pent-up demand
Rose credited digital search behaviour and pent-up demand for driving airline expansion. “Nothing starts without demand,” he said. “And travellers from the U.S., Latin America, Canada and Europe are telling us loudly they want more Jamaica.”
On the accommodation front, Jamaica is experiencing an unprecedented wave of investment, Princess Grand Jamaica (2,000 rooms) opened in 2024 and will host the island’s first casino later this year.
There is the RIU Palace Aquarelle (750 rooms) opened in May 2024; Unico Hotel (450 rooms), which is on track for December 2025; Dreams Resort, Montego Freeport (280 rooms), Planet Hollywood, a Royalton Resort, (650 rooms), and Vista Ambassadors, Montego Bay (433 rooms) are also in development stated Rose.
Throughout his presentation, Rose reaffirmed the Jamaica Tourist Board’s focus on inclusive tourism that uplifts local communities. “All of this the flights, the hotel rooms, the campaigns is about delivering more value to the people who depend on tourism,” he said.
With momentum building and major developments under way, Jamaica remains one of the Caribbean’s leading tourism success stories not just in numbers, but in its commitment to people-first progress the Jamaica Tourist Board deputy director sought to depict.