JAMAICA EXPECTING STRONG GROWTH FROM CANADA

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett and Jamaica’s director of tourism, Donovan White, were talking travel with Jamaica’s key Canadian travel partners – Air Canada Vacations, WestJet, Sunwing, Transat and TravelBrands – during a recent visit to Toronto.

During that visit, the minister and director – joined by Angella Bennett, the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) regional director for Canada – reaffirmed Jamaica’s already strong relationship with Canada, the second largest market for stopover arrivals to the destination.

Minister Bartlett and director White announced that the island is expected to welcome approximately 400,000 visitors from Canada by end of 2019 – that’s up 1.5% over 2018. The upcoming high season will also see an increase in flights from Canada to the island.

Minister Bartlett said, “The visit to Toronto was very productive in all aspects. In addition to the current 360,000 airline seats from Canada, another 21,418 seats will be added for the upcoming busy season to meet the high demand.”

He continued, “Canada is a key market for Jamaica, and there is incredible potential for increased growth. I believe that we can see 500,000 stopover arrivals from Canada within the next two years, due to the increase in air seats, new and upcoming developments on-island and the fantastic ongoing support of the Canadian travel industry.”

Director White is also confident that the Canadian market will only continue to grow. “Our island has enjoyed a really solid year with arrivals from Canada, and we look forward to closing a strong year. The momentum from Canada is extremely positive and we are very happy with what the future holds.”

Said Bartlett, “Canada has always been a strong market for Jamaica. We are glad that we could meet in person with our travel partners and leading travel media, and that we could connect with the Canadian network. It was a wonderful opportunity to thank them all for their dedication and tireless support. The trip was certainly successful and we can expect further growth from the valuable Canadian market. The future is truly bright.”

Air Canada Vacations
From left to right: Shirley Lam, Manager, Product Development, ACV; Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism; Angella Bennett, Regional Director, JTB, Canada; Nino Montagnese, Managing Director, ACV; Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism; Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, JTB, Canada; Diana Rodriguez, Director, Product Development, ACV; Dina Bertolo; VP Product Development, ACV.

Sunwing
From left to right: Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, JTB, Canada; Ruben Gutierrez, President, Destination Management Services, Sunwing; Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism; Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism; Stephen Hunter, CEO & President, Sunwing; Angella Bennett, the JTB’s Regional Director, Canada; Eric Rodriguez, Executive VP, Partner Development, Sunwing; Jordi Pelfort, President, Hotel & Resorts, Sunwing and Danya Greenless, Product Buyer, Sunwing.

Transat
Seen from left to right are: Angella Bennett, the JTB’s Regional Director for Canada; Brenda McInerney, Product Director, Transat; Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism; Renee Boisvert, VP of Product Development, Transat; Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism; Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, JTB, Canada.

TravelBrands
From left to right: Elvi Cal, Vice President, Product Development, TravelBrands; Ellen Battison, Director, Product Development, TravelBrands; Sam Youssef – VP Marketing Wholesale, TravelBrands; Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism; Francesca Henry, Director, Product Development, TravelBrands; Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism; Angella Bennett, Regional Director, JTB, Canada and Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, JTB, Canada.

WestJet
After their meeting, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, Donovan White (right) and the JTB’s Regional Director for Canada, Angella Bennett (left) pose for a photo op with WestJet’s Product Director, Dave Cecco (second left) and Product Manager, Cindy Gerhardt (second right).