Stopover visitor arrivals to Jamaica fell 80.7 percent in January 2021 to just 43,831, a decrease of 183,369 compared to 227,200 recorded in the same month in 2020. The January numbers are well below arrivals in December last year with 90,164 stopovers that fell 68 percent with 190,951 fewer arrivals than the 281,115 recorded in December 2019.
Stopover arrivals from the United States fell 73 percent in January 2021, with 38,500 arrivals than the 143,460 arrivals in January 2020, with all US marketing regions recording decreases. Arrivals from the Canadian market dipped 93 percent, with just 3,274, down 42,608 from 45,922 visitors in January 2020. Visitor arrivals from the Caribbean region were down 79.5 percent to 1,070 compared to 5,217 in January 2019, while Latin American arrivals fell 89 percent with 565 stopovers compared to 5,219 in January 2020. Just a sprinkling of arrivals came from the United Kingdom and Europe in 2021.
While the numbers were down, there was some good news as the lent of stay was up sharply by 60 percent over 2020, with Non‐ Resident Jamaicans jumping 65 percent. The increased length of stay suggests that individual visitor spend could be close to twice what it was in 2020.
According to data from the Jamaica Tourist Board, “the average length of stay of Foreign National arrivals in January 2021 was 13.8 nights, compared to 8.6 nights in January 2020. The average length of stay in hotels was 7.9 nights in January 2021, compared to 6.4 nights in January 2020. The average length of stay of Non‐Resident Jamaican arrivals in January 2021 was 27.9 nights, compared to 17 in January 2020. The average length of stay in hotels in January 2021 was 9.8 nights, compared to 7.3 nights in January 2020.”
Data out of Aeroportuario del Pacifico suggests that arrivals for February could be worse than in January with an 82 percent fall in arrivals through Sangster International Airport and 75 through Normal Manley compared to 2020, with the total arrival numbers being well down from January
Looking forward, word out of the industry is that bookings are in the 70 to 80 percent region for the summer months as the vaccine is rolled out over the United States Jamaica’s largest market for visitors.