The luxury resort Ritz Carlton, an internationally acclaimed, high-end brand on the shores of the Island announced that they will no longer be accepting reservations and closing its doors on May 21st 2013. The news, has caused several stakeholders in the island’s tourist industry to go into panic mode regarding the viability of Jamaica to remain attractive to high-end clientele.
Tourists to the island are classified into two main categories: stopover arrivals and cruise ship arrivals.
Stopover visitors are those who come from a different country and stay for at least 24 hours. Hotel occupancy is extremely reliant on stopover visitors. They are the ones that usually fill the rooms in our various properties across the island.
Our chart of the week shows total stopover arrivals from 2003-2012. Markedly, the total stopover visitors to the island have consistently increased every year over the period. For the January to December 2012, arrivals increased by 47%, with 1,986,085 compared to 1,350,285 in 2003.
What say you diGgers? Will the loss of the Ritz Carlton brand affect Jam Rock’s appeal to the high-end market?
