Tourist traffic into Jamaica for December 2023, seemed to have enjoyed a double digit increase of as much as 10 percent, with passengers passing through Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, the airport that processes the bulk of visitor arrivals to the country, climbing a respectable 13.2 percent compared to the same period in 2022, data from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, operators of the airport revealed.
Tourism is Jamaica’s largest earner of foreign exchange.
Montego Bay with 437,200 passing through the airport in December 2022 handled 495,100 in December last year and 5.212 million for the year, 19.6 percent above the 4.356 million in 2022.
Traffic passing through Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport fell 2.4 percent to 155,900 from 159,800 in 2022 but increased 12 percent.
The latest data shows a sharp improvement over November with Sangster International Airport handling 403,600 passengers, just 7.3 percent more than the 376,100 handled in November 2022, while the Kingston Airport processed 123,000 passengers, 6.6 percent fewer than the 131,700 handled in November 2022.
Data out of the Jamaica Tourist Board whose latest release on arrivals is sadly only up to August indicates that 83 percent of arrivals in 2023 represent tourists compared with 71 percent in 2022 but for December 2022 it represented 91 percent of one way traffic thought the a airports.
Jamaica’s net international reserves jumped US$150.6 million in December to end 2023 at a record US$4.75 billion, with the report indicating that the amount represents 34.8 weeks of imports, data released by Bank Jamaica is shows. 
Profit attributable to stockholders hit $6 billion, a 15.3 percent increase over the corresponding period last year. Earnings per stock unit for the period were $6.02, compared to $5.23 in 2022.
The company has shareholders” equity of TT$576.2 million of Jamaican J$13.25 billion as of June 2023 with total borrowings exceeding shareholders equity with long term loans of TT$285 million and medium term borrowings about two TT$534 million.
If the rate for September holds or falls in October the twelve month rate will fall below 5 percent.
In 1962, the year of independence for Jamaica, there were 63 murders which jumped by 153 percent over the 351 in 1979 to 889 in the politically charged murderous 1980. Murders have gotten out of control since, with respective governments unable to tackle this chronic problem and bring resolution to it.
