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Jamaica generated US$1.46 billion in tourism earnings during the first six months of the 2017, recording an impressive 7.5 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2016.
A publication by Caribbean 360 reveals that the country welcomed 2,165,330 visitors up to the end of June this year, which was 3.9 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2016.
They included 1,186,646 stopover visitors and 978,684 cruise passengers.
Announcing the figures at the weekend, the country’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, said that a record 104,098 stopover visitors arrived during the first two weeks of July a 14.9 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
The Minister said all this indicated that the industry was ahead of the Government’s projected growth targets, aimed at increasing visitor arrivals to five million and generating US$5 billion in five years.
Bartlett said based on the support anticipated for upcoming events, such as the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference in Kingston and Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay, growth for the overall four-month period between April and July will average over 10 per cent.