KINGSTON, Jamaica – Tourism Minister, Dr Wykeham McNeill today, July 1 expressed confidence that international flights from Southwest Airlines will continue the growth in stopover visits from the United States.
McNeill was speaking at the inauguration of service by Southwest Airlines to Jamaica held in Montego Bay.
The minister said that “air arrivals out of the USA account for more than 63 per cent of total air arrivals in Jamaica.
“Now, with Southwest’s service to Montego Bay out of Baltimore, Atlanta and Orlando, we now have access, through Southwest’s route network, to every major city in the lower 48 states except Cincinnati.
“Last year, we received over two million stopover visitors. Now, mid-way through this year, our stopover arrivals are already just about at the million mark, up by 2.2 per cent over last year.These new flights by Southwest inspire confidence that this rate of growth can be maintained.”
McNeill also indicated that several millions of dollars will be spent on the introduction of new technology and to re-engineer the operations at immigration over the next five years in a bid to improve visitor experience.
Southwest Airlines recently acquired Air Tran and as such, expanded its service to international routes. Jamaica is among the first international destinations to which the airline flies.
