Jamaica hunts share of US$4.3-trillion health and wellness tourism market

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica is stepping up efforts to get a share of the US$4.3-trillion global health and wellness tourism market by promoting the country as the number one health destination in the region.

“In global tourism, health and wellness have developed significantly, to the extent that we now speak of health and wellness tourism as a subsector of its own… and it is easy to see why. The demand for health and wellness tourism has been growing at an average rate of over nine per cent and the market value is now worth over US$4 trillion. That’s why we are now seeing specialised resorts springing up all over, especially in Europe, to capitalise on that growing market,” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said while delivering his keynote address at the Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference’s third staging on Thursday.

The minister continued, “With its warm tropical climate, beautiful beaches washed by the cool, relaxing waters of the Caribbean Sea and alluring landscapes, complemented by our natural outdoor spas and those created indoors, Jamaica possesses what it takes to capture a fair slice of that US$4-trillion pie.”

Source: www.jamaicaobserver.com