A 5.3 per cent decline in cruise passenger arrivals was solely responsible for the overall fall. This fall off occurred although Jamaica became the preferred destination in the wake of considerable damage by Hurricane Georges to other locales in the region, during 1998 September. During this particular month, cruise arrivals were 12.2 per cent above 1997 September and was an aberration compared with declines registered in the other months of 1998. The decrease observed in total cruise arrivals was reflected in the 42.3 per cent fall off in arrivals to Montego Bay, since Ocho Rios posted a 6.9 per cent increase. Despite the slowdown in the tourism sector, Jamaica remained a leading Caribbean destination for cruise tourism given the diversity of the product offered.
Attractions range from sightseeing through swimming, shopping and biking to scuba-diving.
However, the persistent problem of harassment and delays in infrastructural projects, especially in Montego Bay, continued to impact greatly on the tourism sector, particularly on the cruise sub-sector. The opening up of new ports in Europe has also eroded somewhat the competitive edge held by Jamaica in the past. The increase in total stop-over arrivals was reflective of continued economic buoyancy in the main source markets as well as increased advertising in these regions, during 1998. Additionally, the continued weak economic performance in the Asian economies, with visitor arrivals from Japan, in particular, declining by 31.5 per cent as well as the diversion of potential visitors to the 1998 World Cup Football tournament in France would have impacted negatively on the sector during 1998. This represented a 67.8 per cent share of the total market.