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Tourism officials are somewhat upbeat about the prospects for the Winter Tourist season following the release of the latest arrival figures.
For the first two weeks of December, overall arrivals at the island's two international airports were up 9.2%.
However for the critical Sangster International Airport, through which the bulk of the island's tourists enter, the numbers were up 14.3% over the corresponding period last year.
Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett was cautiously optimistic about the figures and prospects for later in the season.
"We are seeing the result of the strong advertising and marketing programme that we've embarked on the last six weeks ... we are also seeing the effects of ‘Brand Jamaica' really chipping in now and also the new exciting products that Jamaica has but we are very careful not to judge too far down the road since the forward bookings are not as predictable now as they were in the past.
We feel that we've done the work and therefore, whatever the travel patterns are, Jamaica should get its share," he said.
Forty-four thousand, four hundred and sixty eight visitors passed through the tourism capital's airport in the first two weeks in December, compared with just under 39,000 last year.
Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport showed a 5.3% decline, but this was offset by the strong growth from Montego Bay.
So far, 1.53 million visitors have come to Jamaica, an increase of 4.3% year on year.
For the first two weeks of December, overall arrivals at the island's two international airports were up 9.2%.
However for the critical Sangster International Airport, through which the bulk of the island's tourists enter, the numbers were up 14.3% over the corresponding period last year.
Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett was cautiously optimistic about the figures and prospects for later in the season.
"We are seeing the result of the strong advertising and marketing programme that we've embarked on the last six weeks ... we are also seeing the effects of ‘Brand Jamaica' really chipping in now and also the new exciting products that Jamaica has but we are very careful not to judge too far down the road since the forward bookings are not as predictable now as they were in the past.
We feel that we've done the work and therefore, whatever the travel patterns are, Jamaica should get its share," he said.
Forty-four thousand, four hundred and sixty eight visitors passed through the tourism capital's airport in the first two weeks in December, compared with just under 39,000 last year.
Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport showed a 5.3% decline, but this was offset by the strong growth from Montego Bay.
So far, 1.53 million visitors have come to Jamaica, an increase of 4.3% year on year.
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