Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett, says Ocho Rios has emerged as the number one port in the country, having contributed forty percent of total visitor arrivals, last year.

Preliminary data from the Jamaica Tourist Board indicate that Jamaica welcomed approximately 4.3 m visitors last year.

Of that number, cruise passengers accounted for over 1.5 m.

Speaking at the inaugural visit of the Norwegian Bliss at the Ocho Rios Port today, Mr. Bartlett said, Ocho Rios has had a phenomenal growth trend for 2019, welcoming 197 calls, which represented a passenger count of over 600,000.

This is a 40 % contribution to the overall visitor arrivals.

The additional call of the Norwegian Bliss, will add over 11 thousand visitors to Jamaica’s cruise numbers following its two calls this year.