Tourism booms in Jamaica after pandemic, overwhelms airport
The number of tourists flocking to Jamaica’s sun-drenched beaches soared nearly 100% in the first three months of the year, causing long queues and hours-long waits for arriving passengers at the island’s main airport
KINGSTON, Jamaica AP" target="_self">(AP) — The number of tourists flocking to Jamaica’s sun-drenched beaches soared nearly 100% in the first three months of the year, causing long queues and hours-long waits for arriving passengers at the island's main airport.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett told The Associated Press that the problem stemmed from a shortage of airport staff to process the unexpected volume of people flying into Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay since the end of the pandemic.
Bartlett told Parliament later that day that there were 1.18 million arrivals from January through March — 94% more than the same period of 2022 and a record high for Jamaica’s tourism high season.
“The recovery has been stronger than anticipated and everybody all over the world is having difficulty with their airports because … (many) of the workers have not come back,” Bartlett said.
