In what he describes as an "ambitious but achievable" target, Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has revealed that he is pushing for 500,000 visitors to Jamaica from Canada by 2025.
Minister Bartlett made the disclosure ahead of his arrival in Canada on 19SEP, where he and senior tourism officials are on a "five-day winter marketing blitz" as Jamaica seeks to engage critical travel partners in the Greater Toronto Area.
"We have an overarching goal to welcome 5 million visitors by 2025," he added.
"Canada is our second largest market and we are currently at just above the 300,000 mark and getting to where we were in 2010 when we had up to 400,000 visitors coming from Canada. My projections are driven by data, and I have evidence now that the Canadian market is ready to take us to half a million visitors within the next two years," Minister Bartlett expressed.
"This initiative is about that – getting more airlift. We're going to be talking with Air Canada, WestJet, Canada Jetlines, our new partners, and others to bolster the airlift out of Canada," asserted the Minister.
He noted that his meetings in Toronto follow discussions held with Canadian travel partners at the JAPEX (Jamaica Product Exchange) trade show held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from 11SEP to 13SEP 2023.
Additionally, the tourism minister underscored that Canada would play a strategic role in Jamaica's efforts to engage the Asian visitor market. In keeping with this, he will be the guest speaker at a special event organized by Mandarin Holidays, where more than 100 Chinese travel agents will attend.
Minister Bartlett's other engagements will include meetings with executives from Air Canada Vacations and Canada Jetlines, travel agents and tour operators. The tourism minister is also scheduled for interviews with consumer media outlets as he seeks to position Jamaica as a destination for Canadian visitors.
Minister Bartlett is scheduled to depart Canada on Monday, 25SEP, for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he will join other global tourism leaders, including officials from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in marking World Tourism Day 2023 on 27SEP.
