Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, coming out of current engagements in Spain, has announced that TUI Belgium and TUI Netherlands will be launching three weekly flights between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Montego Bay by April this year.
TUI Belgium will operate two direct flights each week between Brussels International Airport and Montego Bay, while TUI Netherlands will operate one direct flight per week between Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport and Montego Bay. Boeing 787 Dreamliners with roughly 300 seats each are being used for the flights.
“We are very heartened by this announcement and the potential impact it will have on our tourism sector.”
“These flights will also restore the Belgian and Netherlands tourism markets to where they were before the pandemic.”
“While the last two years have been a roller coaster, we have worked diligently to ensure that the work to keep Jamaica firmly in the minds of our critical international partners is reinforced daily,” said Bartlett.
Belgium and the Netherlands have a combined population of just under 30 million, high per capita incomes, and a strong interest in international travel. They are also at the heart of the European Union, with tremendous and seamless air, rail, and road connectivity to many other European countries.
The news comes as Tourism Minister Hon Edmund Bartlett and a small team attend FITUR, the world’s most significant annual international travel and tourism tradeshow, currently underway in Madrid, Spain.
Delano Seiveright, Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Tourism Ministry highlighted that “the Belgian and Dutch flights will bring to eight the number of flights per week between continental Europe and Jamaica. Four flights are operated between Frankfurt, Germany and Montego Bay, Jamaica by German carriers Condor and Eurowings Discover.”
“Additionally, we will maintain a weekly direct service between Zurich, Switzerland, and Montego Bay, Jamaica. We exclude the approximately fifteen nonstop flights per week between the United Kingdom and Jamaica operated by Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and TUI from this assessment, “added Seiveright.
“The massive turnout at FITUR demonstrates unequivocally that tourism is on a solid growth trajectory, and we must ensure that the Jamaican people benefit. We must never lose sight of tourism’s immediacy, which enables the infusion of tourism spending into the local economy. Tourism cannot exist in isolation, as it is a supply chain industry that spans multiple economic sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. This is how economic sustainability is achieved,” said Bartlett.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Tourism
64 Knutsford Boulevard
Kingston 5
Tel: (876) 920-4926-30
Or
Delano Seiveright
Senior Communications Strategist
Ministry of Tourism
64 Knutsford Boulevard
Kingston 5
Cell: (876) 809-2906