Jamaica Sees Jump in Cruise Ship Arrivals

By: - October 2nd, 2012

Above: Ocho Rios

By the Caribbean Journal staff

There were a total of 937,000 cruise ship visitors to Jamaica in the first eight months of 2012, a 33.9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011, according to Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.

McNeill was speaking at the opening of the JAPEX 2012 meeting Monday in Ocho Rios.

There was also a 2.4 percent increase in stopover arrivals to Jamaica in the same period.

McNeill said Jamaica, which is working to upgrade its tourism infrastructure, is looking to “crank things up even further” for the winter season in 2012-2013.

Jamaica is planning to rebrand the town of Ocho Rios under the theme of “Where Eden Meets the Ocean,” the Minister said.

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