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Jamaica is the home of groovy reggae music, sizzling epicurean delights, and natural beauty beyond imagination. We’re known for white sandy beaches, sunset parties, and the ultimate in adventure. John Woolcock, Manager, Groups & Conventions, Jamaica Tourist Board: “Meeting planners and attendees can feel very secure about looking to Jamaica for their upcoming events. Since reopening in June 2020, we’ve hosted multiple largescale, prestigious industry events on island to much acclaim and with no resultant outbreaks of Covid.”
Large conferences, business events, corporate getaways, social retreats, and trade conventions enjoy professional meeting planning services, leading telecommunication infrastructure, and top-notch spaces with the latest audio-visual equipment for every type of presentation need. You’ll discover many reasons to meet in Jamaica and will appreciate the many wonderful amenities that will make your event a standout success.
Positive developments
“While all destinations across the world have experienced challenges as a result of the pandemic, we in Jamaica are deeply grateful for the success we have had and I am extremely optimistic about the future of Jamaica‟s tourism industry,” said Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board, Donovan White. “Positive developments include new service from key markets by our airline partners and planned investments in our destination remaining on track, so there has never been a better time to hold meetings and events in Jamaica.”
Best summer ever
Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund has announced in October that Jamaica has earned USD $5.7 billion since reopening its borders in June 2020. The data also shows that the island welcomed over 5 million visitors over the same period. The announcement follows the destination’s strong tourism recovery efforts that resulted in its best summer ever according to arrivals figures. For the summer period, the island recorded over 224,000 stopover arrivals in June while 2019 June figures show 222,000 arrivals.
Disruptions
“These phenomenal earnings and arrivals figures are truly a testament to the hard work of my Ministry, its public bodies and our many stakeholders and partners. Through our thought leadership, Jamaica was able to reopen its borders at the height of the pandemic and remain open to allow visitors to travel to the island safely and seamlessly. This strong recovery is happening even amidst the disruptions that the pandemic is causing in the airline industry with flight cancellations and supply chain disruptions”, said Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.
Event spaces
Jamaica boasts two large event spaces that cater uniquely to the variety of needs for your function. These spaces offer the convenience of having everything under one roof to welcome, meet, cater, and entertain your guests. Both offer customizable spaces perfect for trade shows and exhibitions, large halls for group gatherings, and break-out rooms for intimate sessions.
Ample island entertainment
Business event planners will appreciate the facilities of the Jamaica Conference Centre, located in the downtown business hub of Kingston, the nation’s capital city. While it offers press galleries, multi-speaker halls, and translation facilities, it’s not all business here as it is located on the waterfront surrounded by our endearing culture, glitzy nightlife, and outstanding artistic attractions providing ample island entertainment for your guests.
New rooms
In terms of accommodations, approximately 8,000 new rooms are scheduled to be constructed within the next 2-5 years. These include a 2,000-room Princess Hotel, the 260-room Sandals Dunn‟s River resort and a third RIU hotel with 700 rooms, all providing additional meeting space. Further, groundbreaking is being planned for the 2,000-room Hard Rock Hotel along with several other properties and the renovations at Couples San Souci are on track for completion by December 2023.
A multi-billion dollar 4-year redevelopment
In the capitol city of Kingston, a multi-billion dollar 4-year redevelopment is underway at the Jamaica Conference Centre. Its lobby renovation is slated to be complete in December 2022, the first milestone in the project. Set adjacent to the Conference Centre, the 168-room ROK Hotel Kingston, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton property, opened in July 2022 featuring 6 meeting rooms and spacious public areas for events.
Suitable venues
The Montego Bay Convention Centre offers 57,000 feet of meeting space and is located close to the airport and many of our major resorts, beaches, and tourist attractions, making it the perfect choice for work and play. It is excellent for corporate retreats or large sports groups who will appreciate the ultra-modern amenities here while being in the heart of the tropical vibe. Around the island, you’ll find a host of other suitable meeting venues perfect for a variety of meeting and convention needs.
Infrastructure
Jamaica has also been investing billions of dollars updating the country’s relevant infrastructure. Major projects planned or currently underway include the development of beach facilities, building and upgrading of piers, regeneration of heritage sites and the construction of a national highway network.
Top planners
Just this past summer, Jamaica served as the host destination for the International Board of Directors Meeting of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) Global. These top planners in the incentive travel business from countries around the world were able to experience the island’s tourism product. Praising the destination, President, SITE 2022, & Vice President, AIC Hotel Group, Kevin Edmunds, commented: “With its easy access, great infrastructure and undoubted all-round destination appeal, Jamaica is the perfect destination to deliver high levels of motivation and energy.”
Key driver
Since reopening in June 2020, the island has welcomed approximately 5,173,000 visitors including stopover arrivals and cruise passengers. “Tourism is a key driver in the overall economic recovery for Jamaica and these numbers augur well for the economy, lives and livelihoods. To have already earned USD $5.7 billion is huge given the major disruption caused by the pandemic,” added Minister Bartlett. The island was one of the first destinations to reopen amidst the global coronavirus pandemic through its robust health and safety protocols and World Travel and Tourism Council approved resilient corridors. These innovative approaches allowed for the safe reopening of borders and travel and tourism activities. “These numbers validate the hard work of our team and prove that our ideas and innovations are successful. We will continue our efforts to recover stronger as we work to surpass our 2019 achievements”, said Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board.
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