Jamaica is on a drive to attract more than half a million Canadian visitors to the island by 2025, a 20 per cent increase over the current figure of about 400,000. The bait is winter golf.
Regional Director for Canada for the Jamaica Tourist Board, Angella Bennett, revealed the ambitious goal while addressing the dinner and awards ceremony for the Sandals 27th Annual Baxter Canadian Golf Tournament, held at Sandals Ochi, in St. Ann, on October 28th.
She outlined that there are several enduring factors that will help Jamaica to reach this “achievable target”, most notably the bounceback of the Canadian tourism market after Covid-19.
“Canada continues to increase airlift. I’m very happy to hear that we will have three flights out of Montreal. This is a continuously growing market for us and we’re very proud of it,” Ms. Bennett said.
“Also, we will have new partners flying to Jamaica and new tour operators looking to sell our destination,” she added.
Currently, Canada’s stopover arrivals for this year are expected to outpace 2022’s figure by more than 40 per cent, according to Ms. Bennett.
She credited this achievement to travel agents who still account for 70 per cent of Jamaica’s bookings.
Ms. Bennett expressed gratitude for the continued support of Jamaica’s tourism industry, emphasising the island’s warm hospitality and growth.
“It gives me great pleasure to come together with you this evening and to say thank you for being here in Jamaica. Thank you for leaving the very cold Canada and to be here in the warm sunshine of the island. Thank you so much for your business,” Ms. Bennett said.
Over two days, October 27th and 28th, more than 60 travel advisors and various stakeholders from Canada joined the golf tournament hosted at the Sandals Golf Upton Estate Country Club in St. Ann.
The event brought together men and women who were organised into 16 teams, each consisting of four members, to showcase their golfing skills as they engaged in spirited competition throughout the tournament.
It is expected that the event will have a positive impact on enhancing Jamaica’s reputation as a premier golfing destination, further promoting the island’s allure to golf enthusiasts.
The winning team of this year’s tournament is Confidence Travel, whose captain, Wendy Hsu, told JIS News that events such as this positively impact Jamaica’s sport tourism.
She noted that clients love golf vacations and appreciate the destination’s food, hospitality, and accommodations.
“We are going to go back and just tell everyone how great it is to visit Jamaica. You have short stays, long stays, and there’s lots of activities to do. The weather’s great, and you have a great golf course,” Ms. Hsu said.
Source: Jamaica GIS.
