Abstract
The tourism industry in Jamaica grew exponentially through the 2010s both for arrivals and expenditure, with over 300,000 Jamaicans directly or indirectly employed in multiple tourism-related businesses linkages. COVID-19 devastated the industry, and its linkages, with an 80% estimated reduction of growth for the year 2020. The few hotels which remained open only maintained an average of 25% occupancy and many ancillary businesses closed. After government intervention, the tourism industry slowly reopened from midyear in a corridor on the north coast, supported by complex regulations and protocols, and tourist numbers steadily grew. Prospects for future development depend on both marketing and vaccinations in Jamaica and elsewhere.
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Spencer, A.J., Spencer, D.E. (2021). Vaccination for Vacation: Assessing the Resilience of the Jamaican Hospitality Industry in a Pandemic. In: Campbell, Y., Connell, J. (eds) COVID in the Islands: A comparative perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5285-1_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5285-1_14
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