Jamaica to rake in US$20m from Appleton Rum Festival and Reggae Sumfest

 

Jamaica is set to rake in US$20 million from this year's staging of the Appleton Rum Festival and the pool of Reggae Sumfest events which end this weekend.

 

Speaking in an interview with Radio Jamaica News at one of the events in Catherine Hall, St. James on Thursday, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, said the projection is based on the direct and indirect jobs provided, the influx of tourists and the foreign currency spend for accommodation and to purchase goods and services that will be on offer from 'ordinary' Jamaicans. 

 

"A while ago when I was walking around I saw them, the coconut man, we saw him, the people with ice-cream and sugarcane - all those vendors of condiments, all sorts of delicious offerings are going to be here, making money immediately. So that $20 million is not just going to the 'big man', it is being spread quite a bit among the small players of the industry," he said.   

 

This marks year one in the three-year partnership between Appleton Rum Festival and Reggae Sumfest.

 

The last staging of the event was in 2022, the first time it was being held in St. James.

 

Sumfest will wrap up with Festival Night two on Saturday.