Jamaica’s Tourism Industry is Booming; Minister of Tourism Worried About Shortage of Skilled Workers
Jamaica has been steadily regaining its tourism industry traffic since the hit of the 2019 pandemic, Covid-19, and has now recorded the “highest stop-over arrivals in history” as of 2023.
Although the tourism industry is expected to soar, it is worrisome that a hiccup in the form of not enough available skilled workers could pose an issue.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, the current number of skilled workers needed to effectively manage the rise in tourists on the island is insufficient. He stated, “We’ve never annexed a million in one…any season for that matter. So we are looking at what the implications are for that.”
At the inaugural Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI) awards and recognition ceremony, which was held in Rose Hall, St. James, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Bartlett spoke on the ministry’s dedication to ensure that there will be an adequate amount of trained skilled workers to keep up with the influx of travellers to the island.
In the coming years, Jamaica is looking at an additional 40,000 plus jobs derived from the building of hotels and room stock expansions to accommodate the rise in tourist arrivals and plans to build a workforce that is able to withstand the change.
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