CARIBBEAT: Jamaica’s diverse vacation experience reaped $4.3B in tourism income

Jamaica has entered 2025 connected a precocious note, raking successful $4.3 cardinal successful tourism income past twelvemonth — up from a grounds $4.1 cardinal successful 2023, the Jamaica Tourist Board said.

Last year, the Caribbean federation — known for its quality sites, beaches, taste attractions and culinary pleasures — registered a grounds 4.3 cardinal visitors. And officials are looking to get adjacent much this year.

“Our continued occurrence is owed to the invaluable enactment of our trusted partners,” said Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism. “In 2024, increasing planetary involvement successful Jamaica drew millions of visitors to our island. This visitant summation is acceptable to proceed arsenic the land becomes much accessible than ever to planetary visitors acknowledgment to road expansions and accrued hotel, aerial and cruise offerings.”

According to Donovan White, Jamaica’s manager of tourism, the caller twelvemonth is already showing promise.

“Already successful 2025, we person seen a 12.9% summation successful hose seats implicit the aforesaid play past year, truthful we expect this volition beryllium different landmark twelvemonth for Jamaica,” said White. “Especially with the instrumentality of beloved celebrations similar this month’s Rebel Salute festival and an extra-special Reggae Month successful February, marked by the 80th day of Bob Marley, determination volition beryllium a batch of buzz and excitement connected the island.”

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest question site, immoderate gave immoderate added designation to Jamaica successful its “2025 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best Destinations.”  The website rated the federation the world’s “11 World Food Destination,” “#13 World Honeymoon Destination,” and “#24 World Cultural Destination.”

For accusation connected Jamaica tourism, sojourn visitjamaica.com.

‘Blue grants’ due

Caribbean firms moving towards the goals of the World Bank-funded “Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) Project” volition soon beryllium offered a boost done the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission’s “Window 2” program, giving determination grants to micro, small, and mean enterprises (MSME) moving towards ever-important biology sustainability successful the region.

Fisheries, marine and coastal tourism, and discarded absorption assemblage firms successful St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and St. Lucia are eligible for grants ranging from $100,00 to $200,000 — done the OECS’ Window 2 program. The programme kicks disconnected connected Feb. 12 astatine 10:30 a.m. successful a virtual event. The exertion deadline is March 19. (For much accusation connected the motorboat lawsuit and the exertion process email ubecgrant@oecs.int.)

“The absorption is not lone connected expanding productivity and competitiveness but besides connected ensuring the sustainable absorption of the Caribbean’s captious marine and coastal assets,” said the OECS Commission, calling the assistance programme “a cardinal component” of the UBEC Project.

In the Caribbean, a bluish system strategy is the sustainable usage of freshwater and marine resources “to make jobs, turn the economy, and sphere the water and oversea life,” and accommodate to clime change.  For much accusation connected the OECS grant: bit.ly/OECS_Program2_Grant_Proposal.

Authors ‘Sip & Chat’

Experts successful the areas of publishing, nationalist relations, and selling gathered successful Manhattan past week to stock their cognition astatine the “NYC Aspiring Authors Sip & Chat Networking Event.”

Sponsored by the SIP NYC, Joy and James Frazier’s Black-owned vino and spirits selling and events firm, the league was designed to inspire, motivate and pass individuals to enactment successful 2025.

Guests included personage publication steadfast Yona Deshommes of Riverchild Media and Lucky Book Publishing co-founders Samantha Moonsammy and Simar Nounou. Author Dionne Nicholls-Germain served arsenic the panel’s moderator.

SIP NYC provided complimentary refreshments and tastings from Black-owned vino and spirits brands. And Nicholls-Germain provided copies of her publication, “The 90-Day Conquering Unforgiveness Journal.” For much information, sojourn thesipnyc.com.