The importance of the tourism sector in the Jamaican labour market in 1996-2018

Abstract

Jamaica is one of the islands of the Caribbean Region which began to dynamically develop its tourism sector after the Second World War. Despite the very strong competition from the neighbouring islands of the Caribbean Region, the accomplishments of the tourist sector on this island are impressive. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the importance of tourism industry for the labour market in Jamaica and how much the economy of the country is relying on tourism. Moreover, article seeks to answer the question whether tourism contributes to the creation of new jobs for the local population, and whether jobs in the tourism sector are satisfactory for the local residents. Also, the paper discusses activities that can potentially contribute to greater public acceptance of the development of the tourist sector in Jamaica. The underlying assumption is that the relationship between the development of tourism and the employment level in Jamaica can be measured, whereas the quality of jobs in tourism is only partially satisfactory for the local population. The method used in the article involves statistical analysis and calculation of the Pearson’s correlation ratio, which shows the relation between the number of foreign tourist arrivals and the unemployment rate.