Above: a COPA plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Panama-based air carrier COPA will be doubling its services from four to eight weekly flights to Jamaica for the winter season, according to Jamaica Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.

McNeill was speaking during a ceremony in Falmouth to mark Tourism Awareness Week 2012.

“Approximately 1.1 million seats have already secured for the upcoming winter tourist season,” he said. “These visitors will come from our traditional markets, including the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as other markets such as Latin America.”

Caribbean tourism ministries have been increasingly looking to COPA and the major hub that is Panama’s Tocumen International Airport.

The first COPA flight to Jamaica arrived in Montego Bay in December 2011, beginning what was at the time just twice-weekly service.

The service was first targeted by former Jamaica Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett, who called COPA the “best fit” for Jamaica among several Latin American carriers.

In an interview with Caribbean Journal after first taking office in January, McNeill said the “thrust now is to try and work on the Latin American market.”