By Two men drove into her driveway, and before she could even blink, one of them jumped off the bike and pointed a gun directly at her. Hamilton threw her bag away from her, and the two men drove away with the handbag that held all of her personal belongings in the span of ten seconds.
“It felt very violating that someone could just take something from you that you didn’t want to give,” she said.
Before the incident, Hamilton, an HR Manager at Grace Kennedy was on her way home from the bank to do a cash transaction in preparation for her trip to Paris, France, the next day. The ordeal left her shaken and she contemplated if going on her long-anticipated trip would even be possible.
Two months later, on 23 January 2023, the U.S. Department of State declared that Jamaica was now considered a Level 3 on the travel advisory list. This means that tourists should reconsider travelling to the island. This advisory resulted from a frequent rise in crimes and the underdevelopment of the country’s medical resources and police forces.
The Government of Canada also advised travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” when travelling to Jamaica. This advisory was issued during Jamaica’s peak tourism season and has not changed.
Although the advisories for Canada and the U.S. mention an increased level of crime as one factor, Sheryll Hamilton states that neither the advisory nor the frightening robbery she experienced has discouraged her from living in Jamaica.
After speaking with police, who she says took swift action, Hamilton believes that her personal experience was a targeted attack and would not use it to generalize crime in Jamaica.
“I haven’t lost faith in my country,” she said. “I don’t feel less safe in my community because of it, but I am more aware. And despite the advisory, people are still clamouring for this product that we have,” Hamilton said.
Serrena McDonald, an Associate Manager at Canadian Tire Corporations in Toronto, Ont., also says she is more aware of the differences in safety measurements in Canada and Jamaica.
McDonald left Jamaica and moved to Canada in 2015. Since then, she has frequently travelled home to the island and feels safe.
Regarding the advisory, McDonald says that she did not even know about it.
“I went back in March and then most recently in May, but nobody was really talking about ‘crime is this, crime is that,’” she said.
Being a predominantly Black country, the Jamaican travel advisory can also be viewed through a lens of underlying racial bias that can amplify negative perceptions despite its efforts to improve.
Angella Bennett is the Regional Director for the Jamaica Tourist Board Canada. She says that what surprised the Tourist Board was the strong rhetoric used against Jamaica, considering that information was shared about their success with reducing crime due to the increased efforts of the Jamaican government.
“We are down 22% in crime, and crime against tourists is less than 0.1%, so it was a very interesting advisory,” Bennett said.
The Regional Director said it was the first time in a long time they had to take proactive opposition to the advisory by “elevating our public relations campaign within the U.S. and Canadian market, elevating our digital destination marketing campaign, and our sales activation.”
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Bennett also provided more historical context regarding the ‘state of emergency,’ which can trigger the travel advisory. The state of emergency derives from a law inherited from the days of British colonial rule that Jamaica issues from time to time. This law allows the police to do random searches and detain people immediately when incidents arise. When this is done, all international bodies must be advised, which becomes an alert message to the world.
“This is the step the government has taken to make sure we are seriously addressing crime, but it means we have to declare a state of emergency on an international stage,” Bennett said. “This hurts us so much because we have to explain it every time it is confirmed.”
“It has been a serious process for the government to ensure that our destination remains friendly and welcoming for all guests,” said Bennett, “So to have this advisory come to light again after being issued, and it has not changed at all since 2022, remains questionable.”
Bennett says that although it has been a successful winter, bookings in the hotel sector in Jamaica still fell significantly over the advisory, with the U.S. travel market falling by approximately 1%. On the other hand, Canadian travel was not significantly affected.
Overall, Jamaica has had a successful year in terms of tourism performance. For 2023, they had 4.1 million arrivals to the island, of which the U.S. accounted for 2.1 million and a gross earning of 4.2 million dollars. Canada accounted for 376,512 of arrivals, making up a 9% market share of total visitors. This has resulted in a 40% increase of arrivals from Canada to Jamaica since 2022.
She says that a few of Jamaica’s 40% repeat clientele have publicly defended the country in the digital space, and many are having multiple stays, celebrating anniversaries, and still encouraging people to come.
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Bennett also stated that the U.S. government released a second advisory on 7 February 2024 after the Board took a very strong stance, focusing more on the hospitalization and accidents of their nationals in Jamaica.
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“I think this is the closest we’ll ever get to them acknowledging that it was a little bit too strong and that they have reworded the position of it,” she said.
The Regional Director believes that Jamaica is and will continue to grow as a country and expects that in the next 5-6 years, eight thousand additional rooms will be added to the island.
“We are also awaiting the opening of the Princess Hotel in Negril, which will attract an additional 800 rooms and increase the island's U.S. and Canadian market for the 5-star all-inclusive product,” Bennett said.
