CARIBBEAN: Tourism Sector Rebounding, Says Assamba

Tourism sector rebounding, says Assamba
 
Observer Reporter
Friday, August 08, 2003
 

INDUSTRY and Tourism Minister Aloun N'dombet Assamba says there is general 
improvement in the tourism sector, which recorded growth of 6.7 per cent 
between May and December last year.

"I am very happy to report that despite all the threats which hovered over 
tourism -- with the events of July and September 2000 and even though there 
was a 13 per cent decline in stop-over arrivals for the early part of 2002 -- 
the sector rebounded in the latter half of the year," Assamba said during her 
contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on July 30.

According to Assamba, improvement in the sector also continued in 2003. She 
told the House that compared with January 2002, stop-over visitors increased 
by 14.2 per cent in January of this year. For February, the minister said 
that there was an 11.4 per cent increase.

Meanwhile, she noted that for the period of January to June, stop-over 
arrivals increased by 7.0 per cent over the corresponding period in 2002.

"When we take a closer look at the figures, we see that stop over arrivals 
from Italy increased by a whopping 121.3 per cent while the United Kingdom 
(UK) market went up by 21 per cent and stop-overs from the critical United 
States of America (USA) market improved by 4.7 per cent," she remarked.

Assamba said the latest figures for July this year showed that visitor 
arrivals increased by 12.1 per cent for the period July 1-28, adding that the 
World Junior Athletic Championships accounted for this increase.

"The level of increase against 2001 was even higher at 15.1 per cent," she 
continued. " It is expected that based on forward bookings, this buoyancy 
will continue through to the end of August and initiatives are already in 
place to boost activities in the traditional soft months of September and 
October," she said.

Turning to cruise shipping arrivals, Assamba said that there was a 39 per 
cent increase arrivals for the period January to June of this year. Passenger 
arrivals alone for Montego Bay, she added, climbed to nearly 105 per cent, 
although the number of arrivals was just about half of those who went to Ocho 
Rios. according to the minister, in comparison to other Caribbean neighbours, 
Jamaica was doing quite well.

"The Caribbean Tourism Association indicates that last year, stop-over 
arrivals declined by 2.5 per cent and cruise passengers by five per cent. The 
decline in arrivals from the United States was some four per cent and the 
Caribbean had a double-digit decline in arrivals out of Europe. So, 
comparatively speaking, Jamaica is doing well in its tourist arrivals in 
relative terms to its neighbours," she noted.

At the same time, the minister pointed out that the commercial banks were 
heavily investing in the sector, where loans and advances to the industry 
stood at $7 billion in December 2002 compared with $5 billion in 2001.

Meanwhile, total disbursement to the industry from the Development Bank of 
Jamaica and the Trafalgar Development Bank last year was $342.2 million and 
$15.75 million, respectively.

The Tourism sector is Jamaica's largest foreign exchange earner, contributing 
approximately 50 per cent of total gross foreign exchange earnings from the 
productive sectors.


SOURCE: Jamaica Observer