With 2024 marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Jamaica, the third-largest island nation in the Caribbean is hoping the special anniversary stimulates the arrival of greater numbers of Japanese travelers. For decades, Jamaica has been a long-haul destination of choice for Japanese eager to experience the country’s pristine beaches, natural environment, gourmet coffee, fine rum and reggae music. The embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo estimates that more than 100,000 Japanese have visited Jamaica in the past 15 years, largely for sightseeing, golf, tennis, diving, shopping, reggae concerts and studying English.
Now, Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism is keen for expansion of the Japanese market as air connectivity improves and an investment boom valued at U.S.$5 billion is set to increase hotel room count by 15,000 to 20,000 over the next five to 10 years.
Jamaica is easier to visit than before the pandemic thanks to a 2019 aviation agreement between the United States and Japan to allow increased flight services between the two countries, therefore improving connections to Jamaica. When appealing to the Japanese market, “it’s always the challenge of connectivity that is the hardest, but we do have routes connecting to Jamaica over the United States, which is the most connected set of gateways around the world,” Donovan White, Jamaica’s director of tourism, said at the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2024, in late May. Speaking in host city Montego Bay, Jamaica.