Jamaica’s tourism sector is nearing a “full recovery” from the impact of the pandemic, according to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. 

“[The] good news is that Jamaica has now recovered 90 percent from the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism sector,” Bartlett said this week. “Our recovery in terms of arrivals this year is likely to be well over 3 million, and we are also expecting our earnings will be just about $100 million, or so, below our best earnings in 2019 of $3.7 billion.”

Jamaica’s main source markets are also rebounding strongly, he said. 

That includes a very strong performance out of the United Kingdom, where arrivals are actually pacing ahead of the same period in 2019. 

That represents a 6 percent increase in travel from the United Kingdom compared to 2019, Bartlett said. 

“The US has come back very strongly, and while Canada is lagging behind a little, progress is being made,” he said. 

Jamaica was one of the first Caribbean destinations to reopen after the onset of the pandemic back in the summer of 2020.