Purkiss says Jamaica losing cruise market share to Caribbean rivals

WESTERN BUREAU:

Andrea Purkiss, the opposition spokesman on tourism, is accusing the Government of presiding over a decline in Jamaica’s cruise tourism sector, arguing that the island is losing market share while competing Caribbean destinations enjoy record growth in passenger arrivals.

Making her maiden contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Purkiss said Jamaica welcomed 1,544,233 cruise passengers in 2019, but ended 2025 with just 1,106,361 arrivals, representing what she described as a 28.4 per cent decline from pre-pandemic levels.

She said the figures point to a troubling trend that has been largely overlooked amid the Government's celebration of overall tourism growth and visitor arrival records.

“Let us unmask the numbers,” Purkiss told Parliament as she launched a scathing critique of the sector’s performance, in which she stated that Jamaica is now facing a shortfall of nearly 438,000 cruise passengers compared with 2019 levels, a decline she argued is having real consequences for thousands of Jamaicans who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.

“These are visitors who are completely missing from our ports – 438,000 less visitors using our taxi services, buying our crafts and experiencing our attractions."

She further argued that while cruise passenger statistics may appear abstract, the impact is being felt by transportation operators, vendors, tour guides, attraction workers and small business owners in communities that depend heavily on cruise tourism spending.

Purkiss went further, claiming that Jamaica's inability to recover its cruise market share has cost tourism stakeholders more than three million passenger opportunities over several years. Using what she described as a conservative estimate of US$10 in spending per passenger, she said the economy may have forfeited approximately US$30 million, or roughly J$4.5 billion, in potential revenue.

She also challenged repeated statements by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett that the cruise sector is performing in line with expectations.

"The minister is completely silent on our cruise shipping sector because the reality is an absolute embarrassment to his administration," she declared.

Purkiss also contended that Jamaica's performance cannot be blamed on a sluggish global cruise industry, noting that worldwide cruise travel has rebounded strongly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to figures cited by Purkiss, global cruise passenger volume has surged to a record 37.2 million travellers, representing growth of more than 25 per cent above 2019 levels. She further noted that the Caribbean remains the dominant cruise destination globally, accounting for approximately 44 per cent of all cruise traffic.

Against that backdrop, she said Jamaica's decline stands in stark contrast to the performance of neighbouring destinations that have capitalised on the industry's resurgence.

Purkiss pointed to Antigua, which she said recorded growth after investing in a new cruise terminal, while Barbados is reporting record-breaking arrival numbers. She also highlighted Cozumel, Mexico, which now handles approximately 4.7 million cruise passengers annually.

However, it was The Bahamas that featured most prominently in her comparison.

According to Purkiss, The Bahamas welcomed approximately 5.4 million cruise passengers in 2019 and has since recorded growth approaching 100 per cent.

"What manner of malfeasance is it that The Bahamas can grow by approximately 100 per cent yet Jamaica has not?" she asked Parliament. "In 2019 they had 5.4 million cruise arrivals. The Bahamas grew by nearly 100 per cent. Jamaica shrank by 28 per cent."

"This is not a regional problem. It is a local management failure," she added.

The cruise sector critique formed part of a wider attack on the Government's stewardship of tourism, with Purkiss arguing that headline visitor arrival numbers often conceal deeper structural weaknesses within the industry.

Earlier in her presentation, she accused the Government of focusing on press releases and ambitious targets while many tourism workers continue to grapple with the fallout from Hurricane Melissa and delayed hotel reopenings. She maintained that tourism policy must be measured not only by visitor arrivals and earnings but by the extent to which ordinary Jamaicans benefit from the industry's success.

Purkiss said the decline in cruise arrivals should concern policymakers because cruise tourism remains an important source of income for thousands of Jamaicans operating outside the walls of the all-inclusive sector.

"The Government's inability to reclaim cruise market share has cost our tourism practitioners," she said, arguing that stronger leadership and strategic planning are needed if Jamaica is to regain lost ground in the increasingly competitive Caribbean cruise market.

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