Jamaica to boost image in hijacking aftermath

At a time when the Jamaica Tourist Board is celebrating an increase in tourists from Canada, a supposedly deranged gunman just had to poison the Kool Aid.

If you missed the breaking news on the najor US networks this morning, or didn't log into Facebook or just unplugged from all media, here's a recap.

Stephen Fray, a gunman in his 20s, described as having mental health issues, stormed a CanJet plane at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. He held the 174 passengers from Canada and eight crew hostage, while demanding to be taken to Cuba.

After releasing the passengers and two crew members, he held the remaining six crew members until they were freed early Monday morning.

Investigations are now ongoing to determine how the man managed to bypass security to gain access to the plane.

Recently released figures show that visitor arrivals from Canada to Jamaica have been increasing.

Tourist arrivals in February were reportedly at a 23 per cent increase over the same month in 2008.

Canada has been ranked as the second most important tourism market for Jamaica.

A press release from the Jamaica Tourist Board said Canadian visitors from Saskatchewan led the increase with 63.8 per cent growth, followed by a dramatic 89.6 per cent growth in visitors from Newfoundland. There was also an increase in visitors from Western Canada, with 32.7 per cent growth in British Columbia and 29.7 per cent growth in Alberta.

Ontario and Quebec continue to make up the majority of visitors to Jamaica, and each grew steadily with an 18.1 per cent and a 35.9 per cent increase, respectively.

Wayne Cummings, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) was reported on one website as saying that he is concerned about the impact the incident might have on the tourism sector.

He said while the situation is a rare occurrence in Jamaica, it’s likely to affect how the country is viewed especially by the Canadian market.

Cummings said tourism officials are now taking remedial steps in an attempt to assure potential visitors that the hijacking was an isolated event.

Tourism minister Edmund Bartlett confirmed this. In a report on Radio Jamaicahe said the media activity coming from Canada and the US are quite buoyant. "The fact is that we now have to hit the market."