Canadian carriers are betting on Jamaica this winter, with approximately 400,000 seats heading for the island from Canada for the 2026/27 winter season.
The surge in capacity comes from a mix of expanded service from Air Canada and Sunwing, as well as new non-stop service from Porter.
An update from the Jamaican Tourist Board says the added capacity comes as “Jamaica continues to strengthen its position as Canada's preferred Caribbean destination.”
“This expanded airlift from Canada is a direct vote of trust and confidence in Jamaica's tourism product and in the strength of our partnerships with Air Canada, Sunwing, WestJet and now Porter Airlines,” said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism.
Canada is already “one of Jamaica's top-performing source markets,” as previously reported by Open Jaw, and the Caribbean destination is looking to turn the additional capacity into even bigger numbers.
Jamaica’s Tourism 3.0 strategy is aiming for 600,000 annual Canadian visitors and US$750 million in tourism earnings from the market by 2030.
“Reaching 600,000 annual visitors and US$750 million in earnings from Canada by 2030 requires the kind of sustained airlift growth we are seeing today,” said Donovan White, Director of Tourism.
Porter joins Air Canada, Flair, Transat, Caribbean Airlines and WestJet in offering enhanced connectivity between Canada and Jamaica this winter.
The Jamaica Tourist Board says it is working with airline partners, travel advisors and tour operators to “convert this added capacity into sustained visitor growth.”
“The expanded winter airlift builds on Jamaica’s broader strategy of diversifying and strengthening airlift across its top source markets,” said Angella Bennett, Regional Director, Canada, Jamaica Tourist Board.
