Andrea Purkiss criticises tourism leakage and market dependence in Sectoral Debate

Andrea Purkiss MP has criticised Jamaica’s tourism strategy, telling Parliament during the 2026 Sectoral Debate that too much of the money generated by the industry leaves the country and that efforts to open new visitor markets have produced limited results.

Purkiss said that for each dollar spent by a guest at an all-inclusive hotel in Jamaica, as much as 70 cents returns overseas through travel agents, foreign-owned major airlines and international supply networks. She argued that tourism revenue is not being retained locally, saying the money does not circulate in the Jamaican economy or create the wider multiplier effect often promised by the sector.

She also challenged the Government’s record on market diversification. According to Purkiss, the tourism minister travelled to Riyadh and Dubai in 2022 and promoted plans for a Middle Eastern corridor, but by the end of 2025 arrivals from that push had risen by only a net 330 visitors.

Turning to Africa, she said the minister visited Nigeria in 2021, held what she described as a major photo opportunity and promised a historic gateway. Purkiss said the arrival figure stood at 1,440 by the end of 2025, representing net growth of 320 people above the baseline. She added that the visit to India, despite that country’s size and rapid growth, resulted in only a 360-person increase.

Purkiss further questioned spending on what the Ministry of Tourism calls seat support, which she characterised as support for inbound flights. She said the administration has spent $2.86 billion on seat support since 2015 and called for the minister to tell Parliament how much was spent to achieve less than half of one per cent of visitor arrivals.

She said Jamaica’s dependence on its traditional market has deepened. The United States accounted for 64 per cent of stopover arrivals in 2017, she said, but reached 71 per cent by the end of 2025. With Canada included, Purkiss said North America now represents 84 per cent of the overall market, leaving tourism more exposed to one external economy than it was a decade ago.