WTM London 2019: Jamaica hopeful for increased Tui Airways capacity to Montego Bay

Donovan White, director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, told TTG at WTM London talks have been ongoing with several airlines to replace the axed Thomas Cook services since the operator’s collapse on 23 September.

“Tui has confirmed it will add additional capacity, which begins with a three-times-weekly service from Manchester next May.

“We are saddened by the loss of Thomas Cook. They have been a staunch supporter of Jamaica, and their service from Manchester played a large role in our summer growth,” said White.

“However, the collapse presents an opportunity for others [operators] to grow.”

TTG has approached Tui for comment.

Elsewhere, White said Jamaica had a “blockbuster” summer. The UK, which is the country’s third-largest source market after the US and Canada, totalled 23,000 arrivals for the month of July and 19,500 in September.

“Overall, we’ve had a very good year regarding global arrivals. We’re up 8.5% from January to October, reaching more than 2 million visitors. The US market alone has grown by 9%, delivering 168,000 more arrivals in these months compared with the same period last year.”