JAPEX 2025: Jamaica powers tourism growth with airlift, luxury & record arrivals

Ready, set…JAPEX!

The Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX), a premiere marketplace for tourism, kicked off Monday (Sept. 22) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre with the theme “Ready, Set, Go,” reflecting the JTB’s strategy for growth.

The event opened with words from Christopher Jarrett, president of the Jamaican Hotels and Tourism Association (JHTA). 

“[This conference] is fundamentally about building relationships that start here,” he said, “and blossom into longstanding partnerships, creating real and lasting benefits for Jamaica’s entire tourism sector. This collaborative spirit and strength is our secret ingredient. The best business is not done in boardrooms, it happens through shared experiences and experiencing Jamaica first hand.”

Growth focus

“We’re all here because we believe in the power of tourism,” Jarrett said. “In Jamaica, tourism is our engine of growth.” 

And Jamaica has experienced a lot of growth worth celebrating as the country grows beyond their all-inclusive market to expand into the lucrative luxury sector with private residences, and unique experiences that appeal to discerning travellers seeking something truly special.

A notable focus has been made on sustainable growth. “Our success must not come at the expense of our environment or our community” said the JTHA president. “We are focused on initiatives that protect our national resources and protect our local communities. The world of travel is constantly evolving, and we must evolve with it.”

Consistent improvements by the numbers

Jamaica continues to see consistent levels in stopovers and cruise arrivals as well as growth record achievements in 2019.

In 2024, the island welcomed 2.9 million stopover arrivals, a consistent volume compared to 2024.  2025 is on track with 1.48 million stopovers to date.

Also in 2024, Jamaica experienced an 8.2 per cent increase in stopover arrivals compared to 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic records. 

The estimated gross earnings from both cruise passengers and stopover arrivals increased by 2.4 per cent between January and June.

“Airlift is the lifeblood of our industry but one of the fastest ways to lose airlift is to lose the confidence of the travel population,” said Donovan White, director of tourism at the JTB, acknowledging the challenges of being faced with the U.S. Department of State’s Level 3 travel advisory designation that affected travel in 2024.

The scare contributed to a four per cent drop in visits from the U.S., he said.

“We had some challenges from April to December in that regard but we and the JTHA jumped into action to overcome them, and 2025 has rebounded.”

However, other markets stepped in to even things out, with countries like Canada showing six per cent growth in Canada and a 26 per cent increase from Caribbean visitors.

Cruise still rebounding 

Cruise numbers are still rebounding post-Covid due to challenges with itineraries due to challenges, he said.

Cruise lines are developing new marketing approaches, joining new destinations to create new ship ports.  2025 appears to be moving back to 2019 levels. In 2024, stays went up from 7.3 to 8.7 nights following the post COVID “revenge travelling” boom with 2025 showing a normalization of trends, with an average of 7.9 nights on average.

Aggressive forecasts

White forecasted aggressive growth for 2025 and 2026 with a predicted 3.36 million stopover arrivals 4.96 million visitors in 2026 for a totally Year-over-Year increase in earnings jumping from 7.1 per cent to 9.5 per cent.  

“There are no second chances so we have to make sure we do even better over the next two years,” said White.

Canadian lift

White added that Canada is a market “we’ve put a lot of time and effort into opening new gateways at Pearson.” 

Quebec City will be running routes between December and April thanks to a Sunwing and WestJet partnership.  Weekly flights out of Edmonton will return from November to April and Air Canada will open Ottawa and Halifax in December.

Toronto, with its long-standing ties to Jamaica, will be pushing out 10 flights per week to Montego Bay.

“I’m particularly proud of the Sunwing partnership. I’ve put a considerable amount of time into convincing Sunwing, even before its merger [with WestJet], why Quebec City is right. I’ll work with them to ensure success in the future.”

The new deals will create an increase in seat growth, with a boost of 31,500 through WestJet and Sunwing and 21,000 from Air Canada.

Combined with new growth from Canada, Latin America and the U.S., Jamaica is expecting a six per cent growth in airlift over the next six months between October and February.

Investments in tourism 

Many hotel developments are planned for the upcoming quarters.

In March 2026, Unico is planning to launch a 445-room hotel in Montego Bay, their first project in the English-speaking Caribbean, as well as plans to break ground for a 1,100 room Hard Rock Hotel on the same property.

Next door will be soon be the site of the Caribbean’s tallest building, an 1,100 room Moon Palace resort, projected for 2027.

Others include a massive renovation to the Bahia Principe with an addition of 750 new rooms, and an additional hotel on the same property.

Overall, approximately 15,000 to 20,000 new rooms are slated for construction over the next 5 to 10 years, valued at $5 billion.

Carnival continues to be a driving event for Jamaican tourism with a record breaking 2025 that had a tremendous impact on the economy.

2025’s Carnival had 15.5 per cent more visitors than the previous year with a 20 per cent year-over-year increase in passenger arrivals, contributing $600 million USD.

Winter is coming

Winter is a critical time for Jamaica’s tourism industry, particularly with hotel expansions and airlift out of Canada. The winter airlift growth out of Canada is up 22 per cent, with Air Canada alone contributing up 28 per cent thanks to new series of gateways, including service connecting Halifax with Montego Bay.

Quebec City’s new gateway represents an underserved area offering an exotic travel destination for the French speaking city.

“We are preparing for French speaking clientele,” said Angella Bennett, regional director for Canada at the JTB. “Quite a few hotels have been training their staff with conversational French to receive them, especially frontline staff—check in, wait staff, front of house—in order to lower the language barrier. We take this growth in this significant market very seriously, and as a country we have to prepare for that growth.”

More airlift is expected with a new potential route from Porter, she said.

“We are expecting that growth to continue and to match the room growth in Jamaica as well,” she said.

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