New Winter Airlift Attracting Travelers To Jamaica

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KINGSTON, JAMAICA – November 8, 2005 – Jamaica is poised for a vibrant winter tourist season with travelers having their choice of both traditional and new air carriers to fly to the island.

Addressing the press at the 28th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference in St. Thomas recently, Hon. Aloun Ndombet Assamba, Minister of Industry and Tourism, said “together with good news about accommodations, attractions and upcoming events, increased airline service in place for the winter will make it easy to travel to Jamaica.”

Spirit Airlines will start service to Montego Bay and Kingston from its hub in Fort Lauderdale on November 10, and from December 17, Spirit will also begin service from Orlando to Montego Bay.

Delta Airlines will have daily non-stop flights from Cincinnati to Montego Bay, effective December 1, while United Airlines will start daily services (except Wednesdays and Saturdays) from Dulles in Washington DC, starting December 17. On that same date, United will increase non-stop service from Chicago to Montego Bay to three days on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The Minister also announced that American Airlines inaugurates non-stop service from Dallas Fort Worth to Montego Bay four times weekly, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, beginning February 3, 2006, while increased charter services are on the cards for the Canadian cities of Toronto, Halifax and Ottawa this winter.

National carrier Air Jamaica continues to provide non-stop service to Montego Bay from New York, Chicago, Newark, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Toronto and London.

On the other side of the Atlantic, starting in November, First Choice will bring additional service from London to Montego Bay, while Virgin Atlantic begins twice weekly service from London to Montego Bay in July 2006.

More choice and variety are also being added to the accommodation sector, the Minister reports, including the new Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa on the South Coast which opened this year with 360 rooms, and the latest addition to the Riu Group, Riu Ocho Rios, which opened with 850 rooms on October 28.

IberoStar has broken ground on the first of three properties in Rose Hall, while Grupo Pinero has similarly started work on a major three-property project in St. Ann with more than 1,900 rooms between them. Before year-end, AM Resorts starts work on four hotels in Trelawny, while Fiesta Hotels is investing in a five star resort just outside the town of Lucea.

Across the island, property upgrades, renewed attractions and road improvements are preparing unique and fresh experiences for visitors when they visit Jamaica.

About Jamaica Tourist Board

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Board is responsible for the worldwide tourism marketing and promotion for the island country of Jamaica. The JTB’s mandate has been to promote Jamaica as a preferred travel destination, identify new and emerging consumer groups, cultivate new relationships with travel partners and disseminate timely and useful marketing information to its offices and travel partners worldwide. JTB offices are located in Jamaica, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.

Details of upcoming special events, attractions and accommodations in Jamaica are posted on the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Web site at www.visitjamaica.com. JTB can be reached toll-free at 1-800-233-4JTB (1-800-233-4582).

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