Speaking to TTG on Wednesday (27 April), Jamaican tourism minister Edmund Bartlett said talks were ongoing between Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Panama and Colombia to offer multi-destination trips.
Bartlett said the partnerships between the countries would be key if the regions wants to recover quickly from the impacts of the pandemic. "With staff shortages and supply disruptions, many places will not have sufficient ability to accommodate the influx of travellers," said Bartlett.
"But if we come to together, we can rationalise the levels of services we have, the quality of the attractions and the experiences we offer. Together, we can enable more attractive proposition to tourists, especially for long-haul arrivals."
Bartlett said he hoped these partnerships would accelerate the Caribbean’s recovery from the pandemic, adding the region would rely on the skills and expertise of agents to achieve this.
"The UK and Irish travel trade is a vital part of that mix," he said. "It’s a strong market for us with excellent knowledge of the Caribbean.
"The ability for us to provide the UK visitor with multi-tour experiences across borders is definitely going to be a big plus. The UK can also become a great hub for us in terms of transit activity from other European countries, and even the Pacific and Africa."
The minister said building an appreciation for what multi-destination tourism means in the Caribbean with its UK partners will be a "critical part" of achieving the plans.
"Already, the UK is showing strong signs of recovery as a source market for us [Jamaica]," Bartlett continued.
"We had our best month ever in the history of tourism from the UK in February, with 18,000 visitors from the UK – 2,000 more than the best ever in February 2019.
"We see the green shoots of recovery are there and we think we can continue to nurture [this] and get an even stronger response. This year could be the best year for our tourism in relation to the UK."
