With a 134 per cent increase in booking volume from Germany between September and October 2021 Jamaica’s tourism officials expect the last two months of the year will outperform the numbers seen in 2019. And, with thousands of airline seats projected, the numbers look set to remain strong next year.
“Jamaica is well-positioned to provide authentic experiences to satisfy these new demands and will be building out more of these experiences to attract German travellers. From now and onwards, our booking projections would have exceeded pre-pandemic booking norms,” said Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.
“Next year is looking even more promising, as our figures are projecting 40,000 seats out of Germany for the summer, which is due to increased airlift and the hard work of all our trade partners,” he added.
His comments came at a November 17 Travel Talk Workshop with leading industry officials from Jamaica and the FVW Medien, Germany’s leading travel industry media group. The event was organised to engage in meaningful discussions and devise a growth strategy for this crucial European market.
“What our data shows is that there has been a steady growth in the number of Germans seeking to enjoy Jamaica’s tourism offerings, and before the pandemic, the island welcomed over 20,000 Germans to its shores. Then the pandemic hit, and we are all aware of its devastating impact on all industries globally, especially tourism,” said Bartlett.
However, he assured them of the safety of the destination, noting the high vaccination of tourism workers and the effectiveness of the Tourism Resilience Corridors, which incorporate 80 per cent of the island’s tourists.
“We are already seeing the positive effects of the destination’s COVID-19 management with increased bookings and seats. With our rigorous adherence to these protocols, infection rates have been kept extremely low within the Resilient Corridors — below 0.1 per cent,” he said.
The minister also shared that access to the destination from Germany is on the rise, as the third-largest European point-to-point carrier, Eurowings, made its inaugural flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Montego Bay on November 4, with 211 passengers and crew.
The new service will fly twice weekly into Montego Bay, departing Wednesdays and Saturdays. It will increase access to the island from Europe. Additionally, Swiss leisure travel airline, Edelweiss, started new once-weekly flights into Jamaica while Condor Airlines restarted roughly twice-weekly flights between Frankfurt, Germany, and Montego Bay in July.
The FVW Travel Talk, which was hosted at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, is a sought-after destination experience conceptualised by FVW Median, Germany´s leading travel industry media group. The one-day congress brings together leading industry officials in Jamaica and 40 trade officials and travel agents from Germany, Austria & Switzerland (DACH).
The objectives were to: increase exposure of Jamaica as the Caribbean destination of choice in the German speaking market; focus attention on the strong airlift emerging from the DACH market, along with latest trend and developments in Jamaica; and networking to establish valuable contacts, insights and expertise.
