Jamaica has withstood the hardships imposed by the pandemic and its tourism sector has almost fully recovered, according to a press release.

Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, confirmed the recovery during a meeting with members of a special delegation from the Republic of Namibia, led by Christine || Hoebes, Minister in the Presidency.

According to a statement released by the Jamaican Ministry of Tourism, Bartlett confirmed that Jamaica expects well over three million visitors this year, with estimated earnings of around $100 million, which is below the country’s best earnings in 2019 of $3.7 billion.

The Minister also stated that Jamaica’s main source markets are rapidly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, he noted that the United Kingdom is the only market where Jamaica is outpacing 2019 figures, noting that the country is six percent ahead in the UK market compared to pre-Covid figures.

The meeting with delegation members came after a gathering of the Jamaica/Namibia Joint Committee earlier this week, where agreements were signed in several areas, including tourism, logistics, urban development, and Diaspora cooperation.

The Minister went on to say that the United States has made a strong comeback in the area, and that based on Jamaica’s tourism recovery, they can “give some help and support in terms of Namibia’s own recovery program.” According to Bartlett, under the tourism Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), both countries will collaborate in areas such as marketing, human capital development, sustainability, and resilience building.

In response, ||Hoebes stated that she is pleased and looking forward to working with Jamaica on all fronts, particularly tourism and human capital development.“This will strengthen the collaboration between the two countries. The agreement will put Namibia in a better place”, she highlighted.