Second monthly decline for Jamaica’s tourism

The best short term indicator of the health of Jamaica’s tourism sector can be gleaned from data released by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, operators of Jamaica’s two major airports showing a 9.4 percent drop to 424,600 passengers coming and going out of the island in August this year, from 468,600 handled in August 2023. The fall in August is far less than the near 14 percent decline in July.
At the same time, Kingston’s Norman Manley Airport, handled 1.8 percent more passengers in August this year, with 199,500 passing through the airport up from 196,100 in August 2023.  
For the first eight months of the year, the Montego Bay Airport saw total passenger movements decline 0.8 percent to 3,610,300 in 2024 from 3,639,100 in the first eight months of 2023, while total passenger movements fell by 1.6 percent. Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport had handled 1,189,300 passengers down from 1,208,100 in the first eight months of 2023.
The decline in arrivals will affect various linkage industries negatively with less business. These include farming, with products such as eggs, pork, chickens, vegetables, fruits, juices and liquor. Also affected are attractions such as Dolphin Cove, Dunns River Falls, ground transportation, water, electricity, workers’ wages and gratuities. This means less money will be spent in the communities impacted by tourism, while Government will collect less taxes from the sector.