Above: Jamaica

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica received 1.8 million stopover visitors in the first 11 months of 2013, giving it a chance to receive more than 2 million stopover visitors for the first time, according to Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.

The Tourism Minister revealed the data in a national address this week to officially mark the beginning of the winter tourist season.

“The start of each winter tourist season brings into greater focus the importance of this industry to our economic well-being,” he said. “We anticipate that the country will earn close to $2 billion US dollars this year. When tourism grows, the economy does well and every Jamaican benefits.”

Jamaica received 1,986,084 stopover visitors in 2012, according to statistics from the Caribbean Tourism Organization. That represented 1.8 percent growth over 2011.

The country has received more than 1.9 million stopover tourists several times, including in 2010 and 2011.