Above: Trelawny (Caribbean Journal photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica received 12,000 tourists from Russia last year, according to data from the country’s Ambassador to Jamaica.

That represented a 600 percent increase over 2012, according to Russian envoy Vladimir Polenov.

“We are confident that the popularity of Jamaica, as a unique tourist destination among our people, will continue to grow, and look forward to the reopening of the programmes of direct flights from Moscow to Montego Bay at the beginning of the autumn/winter season,” Polenov said at the investiture this week of former government minister Francis Tulloch, as Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Montego Bay.

Russian tourism to Jamaica first received a major boost in 2012 with the introduction of nonstop service from Moscow to Montego Bay on flights by Transaero.

While Russians have traditionally focused their tourism in Cuba, that has begun to change in recent years as nationals have diversified their regional vacations.

Along with increased travel to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, too, has seen significant increases in Russian tourism in recent years.