KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica has welcomed 32,000 cruise visitors since the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.
Speaking in the second city of Montego Bay earlier this week, Bartlett said by the end of November, the country will record approximately 64,000 cruise visitors during the recovery period.
He also signaled the sector’s readiness for the phased resumption of tourism activities, with the homeporting of Tui Cruises Mein Schiff 1 vessel carrying 2,894 passengers.
Bartlett underscored the importance of the ship’s arrival, noting that this was the first cruise ship to visit Montego Bay post-hurricane, marking the resumption of cruise shipping activities in the resort area and proving that the cruise subsector is rebounding strongly.
He added that this will contribute to the country’s economic recovery and benefit tourism workers. The Mein Schiff 1 also donated 12 pallets of relief items, including bottled water, food products, and educational material for children.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) and member of the Tourism Recovery Task Force, Ian Dear, commended public sector entities and private sector partners for their united efforts in restoring the island’s premier resort destination.
Dear also disclosed that a massive cleanup initiative was undertaken ahead of the arrival of the first post-hurricane cruise ship and commended public-sector entities and private-sector partners for their united efforts in restoring the island’s premier resort destination.
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