Jamaica is experiencing a surge in the demand for villa rentals for 2019, according to luxury villa rental company Exceptional Villas.
The company, which also owns Villas Barbados and Dream Ireland, states that the “unprecedented increase in advance bookings for 2019” follows on the heels of a 35 per cent increase in online villa bookings when compared to the same period in 2017, with the strongest growth seen in the Montego Bay region.
“One of the reasons for the increase in demand is the excellent airlift to the region. There are direct flights from more cities in the US and Canada to Montego Bay than to any other Caribbean island,” Exceptional Villas explained, adding that Negril, Ocho Rios and Discovery Bay were beneficiaries of the increase in villa rentals.
Among the carriers from North America which have increased airlift to the island for the winter season are: Spirit, Southwest, Delta, American, United, Jet Blue, and WestJet.
Based on figures retrieved from the Jamaica Tourist Board’s website, 620,245 stopover visitors were recorded to have passed through Jamaica’s October to December ports – an increase of four per cent over the same period in 2017.
The online villa rental company, which has operated in the travel industry for the last 25 years, also attributes the increase in bookings to the reduction in crime which, it suggests, has also led to improvement in the satisfaction rate among visitors to the island.
“The other aspect is Montego Bay has never been safer. Local Jamaicans and the expat community are very happy with the present state of affairs. Montego Bay and its environs are quiet and more peaceful than in the last 15 years. There are reports of people walking to work as they have never done. Tourists are enjoying the benefits of this,” the release states.
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