August 12, 2022
One of the largest European travel and tourism conglomerates, TUI Group, has indicated its intention to expand its presence in Jamaica in summer 2023 with increased flights. The announcement was made in a meeting with one of its Senior Executives and Senior Jamaica Tourist Board officials on August 8.
“Part of Jamaica’s recovery efforts has been to strengthen partnership with our tourism stakeholders like TUI Group and their intention to increase flights signals confidence in the destination. This move will undoubtedly augur well for the destination in terms of arrivals and economic activity in terms of jobs and overall earnings,” said Minister of Tourism, Jamaica, Hon Edmund Bartlett.
Currently, TUI operates 10 flights out of Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham in the United Kingdom. These flights support both cruise and land stop over arrivals. The plan is to have up to 8 flights dedicated to stop over arrivals by summer 2023.
“Each flight carries roughly 340 passengers which means about 3000 passengers weekly who spend 11 to 12 nights in the destination. This is a very positive step as we work towards full recovery from the fallout of the pandemic,’ said Director of Tourism, Jamaica, Donovan White.
TUI Group fully and partially owns several travel agencies, hotel chains, cruise lines and retail shops as well as five European airlines. The group also owns the largest holiday aeroplane fleet in Europe and holds multiple European tour operators.