Tourism is an important part of Jamaica's economy. The island's warm climate and year-round sunshine, its beaches and beautiful landscape, attract many thousands of people from all over the world each year for holidays.

History

Jamaica's tourism had its beginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century when invalids started coming to Jamaica to escape the cold winters in England and North America. The first tourist hotels were built in Montego Bay and Port Antonio. The now defunct Myrtle Bank Hotel in Kingston was built in 1892. In those early days, tourism was limited largely to the rich, the old, the few.

Tourism began to prosper in Jamaica after World War I, when improved methods of transportation made it easier for people to get from one country to the other. Indications are that in the early 1920s the number of tourists visiting the island annually probably did not exceed a few thousand. By 1938 the figure had risen to 64,000, and in 1952 the number of arrivals almost doubled to over 104,000; in 1966 the number exceeded 345,000, and in 1970 nearly 415,000.

In 1982 it exceeded 600,000. Since the 1987­/88 season, the number of visitors has exceeded one million a year and has continued to grow, partly as a result of the great increase in the arrivals of cruise-ship passengers. Total arrivals for 2019 were 4.23 Million. This was before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a devastating impact on the global travel and tourism industry.

Find More   Jamaica Tourism Board Visit Jamaica Portal