Jamaica Defence Force troops have set up a base in St James Parish, where Montego Bay and its airport are situated. According to the country’s newspaper the Jamaica Gleaner, 100 murders were recorded in 20 days so far this year. The murder rate in St James specifically is reportedly twice as high as any other parish.
The UK Foreign Office (FCO) advises: “You should follow local advice including restrictions in selected areas, and exercise particular care if travelling at night. Tourists should stay in their resorts and limit travel beyond their respective security perimeters.
“Travel to and from the airport or for excursions should be undertaken with organised tour operators, and transport should be arranged or provided by the resort hotels.”
However Jamaica’s tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, told TTG that the military operation was concentrated in the mountainous area far away from the coast.
“The resort areas are not really affected by the situation. It is focusing on the areas on the residential side on the mountains. The highway that wends its way from the airport does not go through this community.”
Bartlett said tourists in coastal hotels were unlikely to see any troops, though “they may encounter a check point on the odd occasion”.
A statement from Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism added: “These enhanced security measures are not out of the ordinary in international tourism markets and the Jamaican residents have shown great support of this action.”
It claimed that the proportion of crimes against visitors in Jamaica was just 0.01%.
St James includes several Riu properties as well as two Sandals resorts, while Tui has invested in the area. A spokesperson said all Tui guests were in “secure areas”. He added: “Customers are still enjoying their holidays in Jamaica and planned excursions are operating as normal. However, we do not have any tours or excursions operating to the affected [interior] areas.”
Thomas Cook said it had “fewer than 10” clients in the area and was advising them to stay in resort unless on an airport transfer or excursion.
Unique Caribbean Holidays, the UK operator for Sandals and Beaches Resorts, said the situation would in “no way infringe upon guests’ vacations with us”. It added that any client who wished to move to another resort would have to cover any price difference.
Around 206,000 Britons visited Jamaica in 2016, making it the second most popular Caribbean destination behind Barbados.
Montego Bay’s Falmouth port is also a popular cruise stop. Royal Caribbean International said it was operating normally: “The travel advisory does not warn against travelling to Falmouth… we are advising our guests to be mindful of their personal security should they venture outside of the Falmouth area.”
