Kingston needs more rooms

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Carnival in Jamaica big win for Kingston

Preliminary data indicate that from April 1-20, some 26,000 visitors arrived in Kingston, suggesting many were here for activities related to Carnival in Jamaica, says the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). The numbers are so encouraging that Tourism Director Donovan White has announced plans to capitalise on marketing opportunities for 2024.

“These numbers, while just shy of what would have been achieved before the pandemic, are positive for the growth of the event and economic benefits. It also speaks to the unifying element that music can achieve with both revellers and spectators moving about seamlessly and incident-free. Carnival 2024 is expected to be even bigger,” White noted.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...g-win-kingston

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Bartlett projects US$4.5 billion in tourism revenue this year

TOURISM MINISTER Edmund Bartlett is projecting that Jamaica could earn US$4.5 billion (J$696 trillion) in tourism revenue for 2023, a significant increase over the US$3.64 billion earned in 2019, the year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bartlett also revealed that he is expecting more than four million visitors to the island this year.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...m-revenue-year

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Yard Mas brings energy as Carnival in Ja powers tourism boom

The streets of Kingston came alive on Sunday in a dazzling display of feathers, music, and uncontainable energy as Carnival in Jamaica 2025 took over the city. For the Jamaica-based Yard Mas Carnival, a steady stream of revellers in local-centric costumes, spectators with flags waving high, and the infectious pulse of soca music mixed with that of our very own dancehall music, created an electric atmosphere that only carnival brings yearly.

But beyond the costumes and glitz, Carnival in Jamaica is telling a bigger story — one of growth, economic impact, and a promising future.

Speaking with The Gleaner, Peter Mullings, deputy director of marketing at the Jamaica Tourist Board, emphasised how important carnival has become to the island’s tourism strategy.

“Carnival is huge for Jamaica,” Mullings shared. “To the extent that when we are putting together our events calendar for the year, carnival is positioned as one of the big-ticket items that we put in that position very early.”

When asked if carnival has plateaued in Jamaica, Mullings noted that there was a disruption in carnival due to the pandemic; however, tourism tied to carnival continues to grow year after year, especially after the disruption.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...s-tourism-boom

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Carnival’s big impact

DESPITE not yet being able to give a final dollar figure, Carnival 2025 in Jamaica has had an enormous economic impact, Minster of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange has said.

Grange told the Jamaica Observer Sunday that the benefits have trickled down to “even the peanut man”, and earnings have surpassed last year’s.

“Carnival this year has made an economic impact. In fact, we are at least 10 per cent above what we did last year. Even down to the peanut man, he is able to generate an income, as well as stylists, costume designers, the promoters, and the people who design the various bands. The Airbnb people and the hotels have been stepping up. That is what we expect,” Grange said.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said Carnival 2025 brought new excitement and dynamism to events tourism in Jamaica, and said he looks forward to collating the numbers.

“I look forward to being able to reel out the numbers in the way that we expect to show the impact that Carnival has on the economy of Jamaica,” Bartlett said.

The minister said the positive economic outcome is already obvious, though, with the outpouring of visitors filling hotel rooms from Kingston across to Ocho Rios, St Ann.

“This is exactly what the objective is, and the engagement of tourism is to bring more, what we call heads to beds, and to bring a greater sense of awareness of destination Jamaica, not just as a location for sun, sea, and sand, but also for entertainment and for the fulfilment of the passions of people,” Bartlett said.

The sentiments were echoed by State Minister in the Ministry of Tourism, Senator Delano Seiveright, who told the Observer Sunday that he expects Carnival to deliver another major boost to the local tourism sector and economy.

Seiveright said thousands of visitors flocked to the island for Carnival, boosting the numbers of visitors to hotels and Airbnbs.

“The hotels are full, the Airbnbs are full, other short-term rentals are full,” he said. “They’re enjoying our local attractions, they’re supporting restaurants and small businesses and micro enterprises and of course, the benefits spread, of course, into persons in fashion and our hairdressers, our barbers and so on.“

He noted that Carnival in Jamaica continues to grow as a world-class event, strengthening Jamaica’s reputation as a premier entertainment destination, bringing tangible economic benefits to communities and businesses right across the island

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025...ls-big-impact/

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Ja poised to offer #1 Carnival experience

As soca lovers get ready to flock the streets of Kingston on Sunday for the highly-anticipated 2025 Carnival Road March, key stakeholders believe that, with Jamaica continuously serving up a one-of-a-kind entertainment package, the country is poised to offer the best Carnival experience across the region.

Speaking at a recent media briefing detailing Carnival’s economic contribution, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett shared that when he and his team birthed the Carnival in Jamaica experience in 2017, the goal was for the country to be the region’s #1 stop for Carnival.

“When Jamaica takes anything, we take it to another level and make it better. Carnival has proven to be a powerful magnet of visitors to our shores. In 2024 we welcomed 5,400 international visitors who came specifically for Carnival. These visitors spent an average of US$3,209 per person, injecting some $12.5 million directly into our economy,” he shared. “What’s particularly encouraging here is that 54.5 per cent of our international Carnival patrons in 2024 were first-time attendees, so we’re seeing that roughly 45 per cent are repeat and that is in line with the repeat business that we have for tourism in Jamaica. That is a powerful figure.”

Agreeing with the minister, Kibwe McGann, sponsorship director, GenXS Carnival, shared that Jamaica’s infrastructure makes it a great destination with immense Carnival potential.

“Just to understand and give everyone context, when you speak about the other carnivals in the space, you’re talking about islands that are smaller than ours, and logistically they are not positioned where our country is. When you speak about 5,400 people coming to Jamaica for Carnival, yet you have another island within the space that is attracting almost 40,000 people then you understand the potential,” he shared. “Yet, even with their numbers, they don’t have the hotels, they don’t have the infrastructure to back it up, the transport to back it up… Jamaica is uniquely positioned to the largest territory of Carnival masqueraders and its gonna take private sector, corporate Jamaica, the ministry to give us that support moving forward to make Jamaica the best.”

“I have travelled to at least 25 carnival territories within the space and I understand the uniqueness of the Jamaican product. When people come to Jamaica they have a high intent of returning, and that’s not so for the other territories,” McGann continued. “For them it’s one and move. It’s not so for Jamaica. What the minister shared about our food, our music, and love, that connection resonates on a deeper level. We have something special and we need to continue to invest in this product.”

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025...al-experience/

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Tourism leaders warn against surge in short-term rentals

Small hotels face 30 per cent hit in Kingston while Airbnb listings soar unchecked across region

Traditional hotels in Kingston and across the Caribbean are sounding the alarm over the unregulated expansion of short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, which they say are siphoning off as much as 30 per cent of business from small and medium-sized hotel operators.

According to Christopher Jarrett, area chair of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Kingston chapter, the impact on the capital’s small hotels has become especially acute.

“We are seeing a reduction in the number of guests, and we feel it in our monthly reports. In Kingston, the short-term rental market has expanded beyond the ‘small man’; we now have apartment buildings developed specifically for Airbnb,” Jarrett said.

He described the situation as an “unfair playing field”, where hoteliers are bound by regulations, fire, health, safety, and taxation, while Airbnb operators operate freely without oversight from agencies such as the Jamaica Tourist Board or the Tourism Product Development Company.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...t-term-rentals