In a previous article I pointed to the fact that there was very little understanding or enthusiasm surrounding tourism despite its substantial contribution to Jamaica's economy. While there may be widespread apathy from the masses of Jamaicans who do not necessarily experience direct benefits from tourism, there is clearly an unbridled passion within the Ministry of Tourism, which has not waned in the last 22 months.

No doubt, this enthusiasm has filtered through that organisation from the very top. Our current minister has certainly been the most passionate public servant to take on the tourism mantle in the last decade and while many, including me have been sceptical of this optimism, the results certainly speak for themselves.

International tourism has many times been referred to as a fragile and vulnerable industry; one that is susceptible, even more than others to endogenous and exogenous factors. This is primarily a function of two factors. The first is that there needs to be perceived low risk in order for individuals to take a trip especially outside of some geographical parameters. The other is that tourism is, in economic terms, a luxury good which means that once disposable income in major generating countries such as the United States becomes challenged, then consumers tend to focus their spending primarily on necessities. In times of a global recession it is therefore expected that tourism dependent countries in particular, will be most severely affected. The experience, however, has been that tourism although fragile, has always rebounded with remarkable speed. Only a year after the devastating September 11 attacks in New York City, we saw international travel volume return to normality.

Indeed, a prolonged crisis such as the global meltdown is quite different and it takes remarkable drive to stay afloat for such a protracted period. Minister Edmund Bartlett when presenting plans to move the tourism sector forward in the 2008 sectoral debate, seemed to be in overdrive and some of us were saying "slow down minister!" I must concede, however, that it is the exuberance at that time when the industry worldwide was looking healthy that is now helping us to ride the tide and make a relatively good showing in these trying times. It was encouraging to hear the minister a year later in the recent 2009 sectoral presentation highlighting how well Jamaica has performed comparative to counterparts in the Caribbean and International environment.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation confirms a rapid slowdown of international tourism growth since mid-2008 and expects the performance in 2009 to be even more modest. This they expect will be as a result of the economic downturn, current uncertainties, extreme market volatility and low consumer and business confidence. The atmosphere in the Caribbean is even more striking since the region has been dubbed as the most tourism dependent in the world with a contribution of 14.8 per cent to Caribbean total GDP and 12.9 per cent to total employment. Stopover arrivals over the last year have shown a growth of less than one per cent from the US market and a decrease of less than one per cent from the European market. The only significant growth market to the region was Canada at 13.8 per cent.

While a preoccupation with the quantity associated with mass tourism carries its own baggage, we must be aware that given the product that we now offer, a critical mass is essential to its success. Against the backdrop of global industry performance Jamaica has fared well with the key growth areas being the United States and Canada. As presented by the minister, an overview of visitor arrivals to Jamaica reveals the following:

Total stopover arrivals increased by 3.9 per cent, from 1.7 million in 2007 to 1.8 million in 2008.

North America - The stopover arrivals from the US market increased by 1.6 per cent, with a total of 1.150 million visitors compared to the 1.132 million in 2007. Stopover arrivals from Canada recorded a 23.9 per cent growth with a total of 236,193, in contrast to the 2007 arrivals of 190,650.

UK/Europe - The stopover arrivals from the United Kingdom/European region declined by 1.5 per cent during 2008 moving from 288,894 in 2007 to 284,700 arrivals in 2008. The UK, with 188,436 increased by 1.5 per cent over 165,057 in 2007.

The Caribbean and Latin America - The Caribbean region recorded a 6.8 per cent growth with 67,231 stopover arrivals and Latin America had a 32.5 per cent growth with 16,122.

Asia and the Pacific recorded 6,003 visitors, a 14.8 per cent decline.

Cruise Arrivals - While cruise arrivals to the Caribbean declined by 17 per cent, Jamaica's declined by 7.4 per cent.

The average room occupancy in Jamaica was 60.4 per cent, down from 63 per cent in 2007.

The number of available rooms in the accommodation subsector increased by 9.3 per cent, from 28,000 in 2007 to over 30,000 in 2008.

While the above is worthy of note I am more interested in how we measure up to the rest of the world qualitatively. Jamaica copped a number of awards for 2008 with the most notable being those at the prestigious World Travel Awards. These included 'Leading Caribbean Destination' and 'Leading Caribbean Cruise Destination'. TripAdvisor also ranked Jamaica in the Top Ten Dream Escapes at No. 7 ahead of Rome and The Bahamas. All of these speak to the broader issue of image and the potential to market the destination in a meaningful way as we attempt to secure our future.

Congrats minister

I must offer congratulations to the minister and in the same breath I must say, let us not lose steam as we forge ahead. You have silenced the naysayers this round. It will be interesting to see how 2009 unfolds as many feel that we have not yet felt the worst. Everything that could go wrong appears to be going wrong at the same time. In the midst of the economic downturn we must contend with the H1N1 virus and the new Airline Passenger Duty (APD). Both of these have a direct impact on Jamaica as most of the reported cases of the virus have been traced to New York, a major generating state for travellers to the island, while the APD affects travellers from the UK which accounts for 10.9 per cent of tourism traffic to the island.

Despite the challenges, I get a sense that there is vision as we speak of the "new tourism" which has at its centre, inclusiveness and partnership. Let us be sure, however, that the benefits of such a partnership are felt by all stakeholders. The resilience of tourism in Jamaica can be partly attributed to the enthusiasm of our chief salesman.

I think of utmost importance, however, is that while we increase the number of arrivals to our shores, we must create initiatives that will encourage visitors to spend more while we foster backward and forward linkages so that money stays in the economy. While the numbers indicate that tourism in Jamaica thrives even during the hard times, this must be converted to the increased livelihood and standard of living of the people who live in the 'Leading Caribbean Destination'.

Andrew Spencer is lecturer in tourism management, Department of Management Studies, UWI, Mona. Feedback may be sent to andrew.spencer@uwimona.edu.jm.