CARNIVAL IN JAMAICA ATTRACTS THOUSANDS OF REVELLERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Jamaica Tourist Board to leverage the event to bring more visitors to the destination
KINGSTON, JAMAICA, April 24, 2023 – The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has indicated Carnival in Jamaica is a major tourism driver that can be leveraged to attract even more visitors to the destination. As part of the island’s Sports and Entertainment marketing pillars, the event continues to see an uptick in overseas participants with week-long fetes culminating in a final road parade.
“Carnival in Jamaica has become a melting pot of international and regional participants who want to experience the energy of Kingston through music, food and friends. It has become the ideal platform to reinforce Kingston as the cultural capital of the Caribbean and we want to maximize that in terms of arrivals and spending from our visitors on island,” said Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, Donovan White.
More than 26,000 visitors arrived in Kingston from April 1 to 20, the period coinciding with major Carnival activities. According to the Carnival in Jamaica Committee, there were more than 8,000 revellers and 50,000 spectators participating at this year’s event.
“These numbers, while just shy of what would have been achieved before the pandemic, are very positive for the growth of the event and economic benefits,” White remarked. “It also speaks to the unifying element that music can achieve with both revellers and spectators moving about seamlessly and incident free. Carnival 2024 is expected to be even bigger and the JTB plans to capitalize on the marketing opportunities.”
Following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carnival in Jamaica returned in 2023 with the ultimate carnival experience with events in both Kingston and Ocho Rios. The main Road March took place in Kingston on Sunday, April 16 and featured a sea of high-energy bands and spectators clad in brightly coloured costumes.
For more information about Jamaica, go to visitjamaica.com.
SOURCE Jamaica Tourist Board
