Tourist traffic to Jamaica is up strongly in January over the same period in 2022 data released by Aeroportuario del Pacifico shows, as Sangster’s International airport in Montego Bay handled 448,400 inbound and outbound passengers, an increase of 67.6 percent over the 267,600 handled in January 2022.
This is the clearest sign of boom time in Jamaica’s tourism industry.
Norman Manley Airport in Kingston, Jamaica handled 59.7 percent more inbound and outbound passengers amounting to 146,100 in January this year than the 91,500 handled in January 2022.
According to the managers of the airports, Sangster’s International Airport handles 70 percent of all tourist traffic to the island.
The numbers suggest that tourist incoming traffic is on or around the record numbers for January 2020 that saw 227,200 arrivals into the country.
According to the Jamaica Tourist Board, total stopover arrivals last year were 39.2 percent lower than in 2019 and 42 percent lower than the previous best January on record in 2020 prior to the closure of the sector in that year.
The data have significant implications for many areas of the Jamaican economy. The first visible signs will be high room occupancy for hotels and increased employment compared to the same period last year as hotels employ more workers to care for guests, with the multiplier effects that it has on other areas of the economy, such as transportation, entertainment, provision of food and farmers who supply goods to the sector.
Caribbean Producers to be a big 2023 winner
The big surge coupled with the reopening of the Jamalco Alumina plant in Clarendon could result in the biggest growth in GDP for the first quarter in the country’s history since Statin has been reporting quarterly data on economic growth.
By extension the government will collect more revenues and the country will earn more foreign exchange. A number of listed companies will benefit in Major ways and others less significantly. The major beneficiaries are Caribbean Producers, Dolphin Cove, Everything Fresh and Express Catering. Lesser beneficiaries are Jamaica Producers, Wisynco, GraceKennedy, Cargo Handlers, Knutsford Express and Fontana with stores in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
