Above: Jamaica Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill
By Guy Britton
MONTEGO BAY — Jamaica has its sights set on attracting more tourists from China, according to Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.
The Minister, who was addressing the recent Tourism Outlook Seminar in Montego Bay, said the recent elimination of the need for Chinese tourists to obtain a visa to vacation in the country would “play a major role” in drawing visitors to Jamaica.
“Earlier this year we made the monumental move of removing the visa requirements for China, so that Chinese nationals coming to Jamaica for less than 30 days for vacation, could come without visas,” McNeill said. “It’s an important move, because if we can really make a dent…even 0.01 per cent of [the Chinese tourist population], we are in good business.”
More and more Caribbean countries have been looking to China as a potential source market, given both China’s growing influence and investment within the region and the sheer size of the Chinese population.
McNeill said the move to remove visa restrictions was the result of a recent study, which found that doing so would have a tangible impact on attracting more Chinese visitors.