Economy Middle East spoke to Donovan White, Director of Tourism for Jamaica, about the sought-after destination and the plans to make it easier for the Gulf traveler.
What did you expect to get out of the Arabian Travel Market?
It’s been a wonderful experience. I think it has proven to us that the decision to participate was well-timed and useful, شىي we certainly have plans to attend again in the coming years.
We came here with two primary objections. To solidify our position with Emirates Airlines, which has now listed Jamaica’s international airports in Kingston and Montego Bay in their flight ticketing system. We are also in discussions with Emirates Holidays, to engage as a destination partner, which will bring package rooms with seats for a more seamless vacation. We also want to bring new investors to Jamaica and bring new brands to the country so that we can continue to diversify our offerings to the world. Discussions with investors in this region for expansion of our product are going well. Today, Jamaica offers about 32,000 rooms in our inventory, with another 8,000 rooms in our pipeline. In total, we are talking about 40,000 rooms, and our ambition going forward is closer to 50,000 rooms over the next five years.
What kind of role does tourism play in the Jamaican economy?
Tourism is our number one industry, contributing around 34% of our GDP, 10.5% of that is direct. And there is another 24% which is induced or indirect. It’s a major part of our economy. It drives foreign exchange earnings. It drives foreign direct investments. It drives employment. It drives the backward-forward linkages into other industries such as agriculture, and manufacturing. In fact, coming out of the pandemic, our tourism industry has been the leading driver of economic activity, employment, and revenues back into an economy that would have stalled completely during the COVID 19 pandemic.
What sort of travelers are you expecting to attract from the UAE and the region?
Jamaica has a very diversified tourism product. Our tourism product is not only built on three, four, and five-star hotels. It’s built on the fact that we have a deep cultural heritage. We have a great background in music, sports, and food. Our people are our number one assets, because of the way they receive and love, and the care that they give to people who visit the country.
We’d like to attract immersive travelers who want to understand our culture and get into the diversity of our mountains, music, or events. We have great entertainment events in Jamaica and of course, they’ll be able to enjoy some of the best hotels, everything from five stars to two stars. Most of our properties sit on the beachfront. We’re talking about white sandy beaches, blue turquoise waters, parasailing, boating, yachting, and fishing. But we also have mountains that you can go climbing, trekking, or on a bike ride.
We certainly want them to come back for another taste and to bring their friends and family to Jamaica.
What is the ideal time for a vacation in Jamaica?
Jamaica is an all-year-round destination, enjoying an average temperature of 27 to 28 degrees. We pride ourselves on the three S’s of a destination safety, security, and seamlessness. You can expect that when you get to Jamaica, the experience is seamless, from the time you land. We have VIP services where guests can be met on the tarmac escorted through immigration and right to the hotel. While you’re in Jamaica, it is the most connected and interconnected destination in the Caribbean and Latin America. Jamaica is in fact the most connected destination in terms of the internet.
We like to think of ourselves as being super progressive in our thoughts. We lead the world, or certainly part of the leadership of the world in thought leadership with the creation of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, led by our Minister of Tourism, Edwin Bartlett. We want to ensure that we continue to maintain that kind of focus because it allows people looking to travel to see another side of what we mean or what we present to the world as a tourism destination.
It’s not all about the fancy beaches. What else can we look forward to in Jamaica?
I think it’s safe to say that you know of a certain guy called Bob Marley, and you know of another guy called Usain Bolt. And you know of another lady called Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah. And a guy named Marcus Garvey. Jamaica is known for having some very notable personalities. We do that through our culture of music and sports. We do that through our food. We have some of the most tasteful, delectable spices that are naturally grown in Jamaica. You may know of reggae, it’s actually an evolution of five other genres of music that became reggae and now it’s evolved into a dance hall. Our music has certainly put us on the map and we’ve remained there for many years with the consistent creation of new icons of our music, the biggest of them being Bob Marley. For us, our culture precedes the destination. It is part of why 4.5 million people come to Jamaica every year.
When they come to Jamaica, they feel a part of something special and they keep coming back. 42% of people who come to Jamaica return more than once. We have a very high track record of repeat visitations. We want to ensure that we bring that kind of message and notoriety to the UAE, especially for those people who’ve never been to Jamaica but are enthralled and thrilled about the opportunity to come to Jamaica now that flights are available.
How about some of the must-try dishes of Jamaica?
Number one, obviously, for me would be Ackee and saltfish. That’s our national dish. Ackee is a fruit that grows on a tree. Saltfish or codfish is dried fish. We put the two together with our organically grown spices. Peppers, scallions, thyme, onions, and garlic. And you create a dish that you can have all by itself or you can have any kind of starch that creates an unbelievable blend of spices and taste in your mouth. Then, of course, we have our jerk, which we’re known for. Whether that’s jerk chicken, jerk fish, or beef. People think that jerk is hot, but it’s only hot if you overuse it. Jerk is a spice that is supposed to enhance the taste and flavors so that when it bursts in your mouth, there’s an explosion of taste. Then we have Goat Curry with basmati rice, … delicious.
Our motto is, ‘Heartbeat of the World’, and our population is made up of many people from all parts of the world. Indians, Chinese, Lebanese, Syrians, Caucasian, African, you name it. And they’re in Jamaica. This is why our food and our culture are so diverse because we take a little bit of everybody’s greatness and make it into one thing called Jamaica. And so we invite the world. We invite the entire UAE to come to Jamaica and experience what we know to be the number one culture in the world, and you can only find one such place in the world and that’s in Jamaica.
