Jamaica Travel News

The following is a round-up of travel news culled from the Jamaica Gleaner and the Jamaican Observer newspapers.

Make the historic Cuba Cruise

Five days after the winter tourist season commences, Jamaica will be part of history when Louis Critsal Cruises sails out of Montego Freeport en route to Cuba.

This is the first time that a cruise line will operate ships between the two neighbouring countries.

During an interview on Monday, Cuba Cruise’s marketing and media coordinator, Melissa Medeiros, confirmed that the first ship from the tourism capital will depart on Friday, December 20, and operate every Friday until March 21, 2014. Read more here.

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Jewel Paradise Cove Opens

The 225-room Jewel Paradise Cove hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann, officially opened last weekend to become the third hotel in the Jewel brand owned by Sagicor Life Jamaica.

Jewel Paradise Cove joined the Jewel Runaway Bay, and the Jewel Dunn’s River in Mammee Bay, St Ann, as Sagicor extended its interest in Jamaica’s tourism product. Described by the company as its most contemporary spa resort, the redesigned adult-only property sparkles from its multimillion-dollar upgrade, offering services that are centred on its health, spa, and fitness theme.

Private balconies and patios have been added to the rooms, another evidence of the physical enhancement that has been made to the property. Of the 225 rooms, 15 are junior suites that have been totally refurbished to offer more luxurious accommodation for the guests. For more.

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Jamaica on Target to Make Stopover History

THIS year is shaping up to be the best in the history of stopover arrivals, with preliminary figures suggesting that Jamaica could welcome more than two million visitors to the island by the end of the year, according to Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.

“The 15th (today) is the start of the season but if we continue tracking at that pace, as we are doing now, we will have a landmark year as for the first time in history we would surpass two million stopover visitors for 2013,” McNeill told editors and reporters at the Jamaica Observer Press Club held at the newspaper’s head offices in St Andrew on Thursday. Read more here.

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$20-billion Boost For Tourism Sector

Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill has said that over $20 billion in investments have been earmarked for Jamaica’s tourism sector.

“What we have on the books in terms of investment is about 20 billion in the tourism sector and it brings about 840 rooms on stream which are either new rooms or old rooms that have been completely refurbished,” McNeill said. Read more here.

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Shorter Wait Expected at Airports

With thousands of visitors expected to travel to Jamaica during the 2013/2014 winter tourist season which begins today, efforts are underway to lesson the lengthy wait in long lines at the island’s two international airports.

According to Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill, the process has already begun with the removal of the outgoing immigration service, which had contributed to the bottleneck, from both the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Read more here.