KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica received a tourism boost with news that United Kingdom-based airline Virgin Atlantic will increase nonstop flights between London, Heathrow and Montego Bay, St James.

These flights will begin at the end of March, according to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday.

Additionally, major European tour operator, TUI, ranked Jamaica as the best performing long haul destination for the group which operates up to nine flights per week between the UK cities of London, Manchester and Birmingham and Montego Bay.

Jamaica was also ranked the most searched destination in the Caribbean and third in the world this week on Dial-A-Flight, one of the largest tour operators in the UK.

Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright said Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett’s decision to have his officials remain dynamic and strategically focused in the global tourism space during and after the COVID crisis is critical to the success today.

He also noted that the news is particularly good given the fact that the UK economy is in a mild recession and the existence of very strong competition from destinations across the world, many of whom offer low priced vacations.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics said the economy shrank by 0.3 per cent between October and December 2023, on top of a contraction for July and September 2023.

Seiveright noted that the tourism ministry and its Jamaica Tourist Board continues to aggressively court the UK market which has grown to record numbers over the last two years, with over 210,000 visiting last year alone.