Currently, the tourism minister said cruise brings in about US$200 million annually, or representing an average spend of US$100 per cruise passenger, which accounts for about one per cent of tourism revenues for Jamaica.
He wants to grow the average spend to US$250 per passenger, primarily by improving shopping experiences for tourists. Those ambitions are driven by market preferences as 67 per cent of visitors travel for shopping opportunities. Right now, Jamaica has limited products and is not positioned to entice that type of tourist.
“You will see that shopping, proportionally, will be in the region of one per cent. From extrapolation, it’s about US$200 million. We have to increase that significantly,” said Bartlett. “I want our cruise spend to move from where it is to US$500 million. That’s where the Bahamas is. That’s where St Croix is. That’s where St Martin and little Cayman is. “We are in the cellar, so to speak, of the shopping spend.”
Under the plans and programmes aimed to reposition Jamaica as a shopping destination, an artisan village is set to open in Falmouth in December. It is meant to encourage artisans to produce more items for the shopping /cruise market.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/b...future-jamaica
He wants to grow the average spend to US$250 per passenger, primarily by improving shopping experiences for tourists. Those ambitions are driven by market preferences as 67 per cent of visitors travel for shopping opportunities. Right now, Jamaica has limited products and is not positioned to entice that type of tourist.
“You will see that shopping, proportionally, will be in the region of one per cent. From extrapolation, it’s about US$200 million. We have to increase that significantly,” said Bartlett. “I want our cruise spend to move from where it is to US$500 million. That’s where the Bahamas is. That’s where St Croix is. That’s where St Martin and little Cayman is. “We are in the cellar, so to speak, of the shopping spend.”
Under the plans and programmes aimed to reposition Jamaica as a shopping destination, an artisan village is set to open in Falmouth in December. It is meant to encourage artisans to produce more items for the shopping /cruise market.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/b...future-jamaica
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