The Tourism industry showed encouraging signs that it was set to rebound from the downturn in visitor arrivals and foreign exchange earnings, which was sparked by COVID-19:
• Preliminary figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) show that the country welcomed 1,297,094 visitors, comprising 847,823 stopover arrivals and 449,271 cruise passengers, and generated approximately US$1.3 billion in earnings in 2020.
• Several airlines also resumed service to
Jamaica, largely out of North and South America, and Europe.
• Among them were American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, United, SouthWest, Air Canada, West Jet, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Copa.
Several measures were instituted to safeguard visitors, workers and other industry stakeholders against COVID-19. These included:
• Mandatory testing of visitors.
• Establishment of COVID-19 Resilient Corridors along resort areas to
restrict visitor movement.
• Development of robust operational protocols for businesses, in tandem with the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
• Online training for employees, with particular focus on health and safety protocols.
• COVID-19 Resilient Certification for sector entities.
• Establishment of the Jamaica Cares Insurance Programme, which is
tailored to provide travel protection and emergency services to visitors to the island and locals, as well as safeguard industry workers.
• Provision of 500 protective kits for small operators and 10,000 masks for front-line workers.
These were complemented by:
• A US$200,000 donation by Spanish-owned companies with investments in Jamaica to the Government’s COVID-19
response programme.
Industry Recovery
• Relief extended under the Business Employee Support and Transfer of Cash (BEST Cash) component of the Government’s COVID-19 Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme.
• $100-million grant programme to assist micro, small and medium-sized operators.
