Jamaica Sees Canadian Air Seats Hit Record Level
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has reported success in increasing airline seats out of Canada, Jamaica’s second largest visitor market.
Said Minister Bartlett: “So far, we have been successful in commitments that will see the number of airline seats at a record 283,000 out of Canada to Jamaica this winter; 26,000 more seats than was recorded in 2019, pre-COVID-19,” he announced this afternoon. These are from major travel partners such as Air Canada Vacations, WestJet, Transat and Sunwing.
Speaking in Canada, Minister Bartlett noted that: “The marketing program for Canada is now in full gear” and supported by Director of Tourism, Donovan White and the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Regional Director for Canada, Angella Bennett, “we are having meetings with our airline partners and tour operators.”
In Canada with a number of Jamaica’s senior tourism officials, the Minister participated in a series of activities between various segments of the market that take in Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa and, he observed: “We are satisfied that the market has bounced back post-COVID.”
Minister Bartlett the 283,000 seats “will go a long way in bringing us back to our levels of over 300,000 visitors that we had during the immediate pre-COVID period, but the objective is to get to 400,000 where we were in 2010.”
The visit is also being used to launch the JTB’s new “Come Back” campaign and Minister Bartlett contends that “with added inventory coming in Jamaica and a new thrust in terms of the quality product and recognition of the value proposition that Jamaica offers, we are optimistic that in 2023/24 we will see a full recovery of the Canadian market to the levels that we were in the best of times in 2010.”
In the photo
Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett (3rd on the right) and Director of Tourism, Donovan White visited Air Canada Vacations’ offices along with Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, Jamaica Tourist Board, Shirley Lam, Manager Product Development, Air Canada, Angella Bennett, the JTB’s Director for Canada, Nino Montagnese, Vice President, Air Canada Vacations (ACV), Dina Bertolo, Vice President, Product Development, ACV and Audrey Tanguay, Manager, Global Sales and Tourism Partnerships, Air Canada.
