The Jamaica Tourist Board has announced that the Caribbean nation is creating a new zone for high-end tourism on the island’s north coast that stretches from Oracabessa to Port Antonio.
The new “Revere Zone”, which will only have low-density development, will include the coastal towns of Port Maria, Oracabessa, St. Ann’s Bay, Discovery Bay, Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios. Planned infrastructure projects, including new highways in the Ocho rios area, will make access to the zone easier, especially for travelers coming from Ian Fleming International Airport. And redevelopment projects further east in Port Antonio will provide more social and cultural amenities, like theaters, museums and restaurants, that high-end tourists demand.
The aim is to drive visitors to other regions aside from just the tourist hotspots of Montego Bay and Negril so that tourist dollars will trickle throughout Jamaica. The plan is part of the country’s Blue Ocean Strategy for tourism recovery, launched in late 2021, that seeks to champion entrepreneurs and small businesses and promote sustainability, resilience and inclusivity.
“As we are working to diversify our tourism sector, we could not be more pleased to create an area that provides a different type of experience for a high-end traveler,” said Jamaica’s tourism minister Edmund Bartlett in a press statement. “This new zone will be supported by additional non-stop air service flying directly into Ocho Rios, providing easier and more direct access to this beautiful region of our island.”
For more information, visit visitjamaica.com.
