Wayne Sterling, Sales Representative, the Jamaica Tourist Board Montego Bay, says “they have rooms to fill and more being built”
Lisa Raffaele

Wayne Sterling, Sales Representative, the Jamaica Tourist Board

Sterling said that he has noticed that people are being careful when travelling, but the JTB has created massive efforts to make sure that they are continuously on the minds of perspective travellers.

“People are being careful when they travel, so we have taken massive PR and marketing strategies with regards to the U.S., and have added a lot of added advertising, [i.e.] with taxi ads in New York and a big presence in Penn Station on January 5,” he told TRAVELHotNews.

“With regards to Canada, added PR is always good, targeting both the consumer and trade. The Jamaica Tourist Board has really partnered with agents. They are our huge supporter. [By organizing] a lot of FAMs we will see the fruits of our labour.”

According to Sterling, additional funds have been added to Jamaica’s travel industry, and Jamaica’s partners have been offered incentives, such as paying less taxes, “for the time being,” he added.

With respect to the Canadian market, Jamaica has seen a slight increase in Canadian arrivals, 31.3 per cent in June 2008 and 83.1 per cent May of the same year. From January top October 2008, Jamaica welcomed 191,490 Canadian visitors to the island.

“The Canadian market has been doing well for the past several years,” Sterling said. “We are trying our utmost best to add to that momentum during the economy’s downturn.
The U.S. still has 70 per cent of the market.”

With visitor numbers to Jamaica continuously rising overall, Sterling and the JTB have made an approximate projection as far as forward bookings of approximately 30 per cent from overall travel from around the world for the island for this winter season. He added that the JTB is exploring new and emerging markets by increasing their marketing, public relations and airlift in Canada, and they would like to receive 100,000 more global visitors in 2009.

“Jamaica has such appeal,” he said. “It has a certain mystique. Our visitor surveys always say that Jamaica is [known for] the warmth and friendliness of its people. We have more attractions than our competitors put together. We have rooms to fill and additional [rooms] being built. The minister says that [the 100,000 goal] is plausible and so do I, and that is why aggressive marketing campaigns have been added.”