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WHY IT RATES: The U.S. is offering more flights than ever to Jamaica, making it a viable summer vacation destination in 2019. —Alex Temblador, TravelPulse Associate Writer
Jamaica is set to welcome increased travelers this summer as the destination has secured over 1.4 million air seats this season, an increase of 108,872 or 8.4 percent over last summer.
Jamaica’s primary source market, the United States, has seen the biggest growth having secured over 100,000 additional seats for the summer period between May and August 2019. This is strong evidence of the confidence US airline partners have placed in Jamaica.
“We are looking to build on the strong start to 2019, having welcomed over 1.3 million visitors through the end of March, which generated just under $950 million in revenue for Jamaica’s tourism sector,” said Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. “The groundwork has been laid in the first quarter and with the increased seat capacity this summer, we anticipate continued growth and increased earnings for the destination.”
United States
The Northeast region has seen the most significant increase accounting for more than half of the seats secured. From New York-JFK, JetBlue Airways has added more capacity and increased frequency to Kingston and Montego Bay, and Delta has added daily service to Kingston.
From Newark, United Airlines has increased frequency to Montego Bay from Baltimore, and Southwest has increased frequency to Montego Bay.
The Southeast region has received over 20,000 additional seats for the summer to Montego Bay. American Airlines has increased flights from Charlotte, Delta has increased its capacity from Atlanta and JetBlue will be adding a second daily flight from Orlando during August.
Spirit Airlines has introduced new service to Montego Bay and Kingston. From New Orleans, Vacation Express will reintroduce its charter service to Montego Bay starting May 25 and will operate through to June 22.
In the Midwest region, Southwest begins new weekly service on Saturdays from St. Louis to Montego Bay starting June 9.
The West will see United Airlines adding extra flights Tuesdays and Thursdays from Houston (IAH) to Montego Bay. Additionally, Sun Country Airlines will begin new service from Dallas (DFW) to Montego Bay starting May 24. This service will operate through to August 19, 2019.
“It is encouraging to see that growth is not only from the established markets. As we open new gateways, we are attracting visitors from new markets,” said Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism.
UK/Europe
UK/Europe has grown its overall seat capacity from this region by 9,257 seats or 5.5 percent compared to last year. This is due primarily to the addition of new service from Manchester, larger equipment from British Airways out of Gatwick and TUI out of Manchester. TUI has also doubled their seat capacity from Belgium and Holland with longer rotations.
Caribbean
In the Caribbean, new direct service from Barbados twice weekly on Caribbean Airlines largely accounts for the six percent increase this summer.
For more information about travel statistics to Jamaica, please visit www.jtbonline.org.
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