First-time visitor to Jamaica, Brian Simmons on June 15 became the country’s one millionth stopover arrival for 2022 and to mark the milestone he has been given an all-expenses-paid return trip for his next visit.
Simmons landed at Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport (MBJ) on JetBlue flight 1479 from New York’s JFK airport at 9:22 am local time.
“I could not be more pleased or prouder to greet Mr Simmons, our one millionth stopover visitor arriving this year, and welcome him to our beautiful island home,” said Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett. “This moment is a testament to the confidence that the market shows in Jamaica as well as the strength, resilience and enduring appeal of Jamaica’s tourism product as we build back stronger.”
In addition to Bartlett, Director of Tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, Donovan White and Deputy Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon were on hand to mark the occasion.
The celebration of this year’s one millionth stopover is seen as a signal of the strength of Jamaica’s tourism recovery.
“This occasion clearly demonstrates the success of Jamaica’s recovery efforts,” said White. “We have been seeing a steadily increasing growth in stopover arrivals this year, and summer bookings pacing ahead of 2019 to be the strongest summer we have ever experienced.”
Bartlett anticipates that Jamaica will soon welcome its next one millionth visitor.
“It’s wonderful to see more than one million guests already in this year of our 60th anniversary, with the bulk of arrivals having accrued in just the past four months and the expectation that we will welcome our next million stopovers in the next four months,” said the minister. “We encourage everyone to explore the island, connect with our people and learn about our culture so they will want to come back to Jamaica again and again.”
