MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica has secured 1.6 million air seats into the island this summer, with the bulk coming from the United States — the island’s major market — even as the country continues to woo visitors from the non-traditional areas of Eastern Europe and Latin America.

This is welcome news for the many tourism interests now gathered in Montego Bay for the 21st staging of the island’s premiere trade show, Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX), at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Director of Tourism John Lynch, who made the announcement at a JAPEX media breakfast at the Half Moon Hotel Resort yesterday, said this is in addition to charter flights in November and December from markets such as Canada, the United Kingdom/Europe and Latin America.

According to Lynch, the total number of air seats available this summer out of the US north-east has increased by 7.3 per cent over last year.

Meanwhile, Jamaica has been experiencing new investment and some transition of ownership in the hotel sector.

Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill also told the delegation of international and local media representatives that Jamaica has welcomed some recognised brands to the ownership of some well-established hotels.

These are Blue Diamond Resorts, which has taken over the Trelawny Beach Hotel; Melia Hotels that now controls Braco Village; and Karisma Resorts, which acquired the Poinciana in Negril. Sagicor has now taken over its third property to be operated under the Jewels flag, while construction of a Marriott Courtyard is set to begin in Kingston this year.

“Going forward, therefore, Jamaica will be offering a fresh and even more attractive product,” the minister said.

He added that there will also be greater muscle behind the country’s marketing efforts as new partners add their energies to the team’s efforts.

Meanwhile, the minister said the Eastern European markets are also showing real potential, with Russia, in particular, starting to produce good numbers.

“Currently, we have one flight out of Moscow every 10 days; however, we are in the middle of negotiations to increase this to two flights on a 10-day rotation for the 2013/2014 winter period,” McNeill said.

The premier tourism trade show continues to attract a strong contingent of buyers and suppliers doing brisk business on the trade floor.

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Evelyn Smith, in her address to the opening ceremony on Sunday, said the success of JAPEX 2013 is critical to the wider Jamaican economy.

She noted that there are indications that the trade show will deliver excellent results this year.

According to Smith, although this year’s show was scheduled only seven months after JAPEX 2012, confirmed appointments prior to Sunday’s opening showed a 9.6 per cent increase, moving from 1,879 in 2012 to 2,060 this year.

Even more important, she said, was that 93 per cent of the appointments requested have already been confirmed, as opposed to only 64 per cent at the same time last year.

“This means one thing: suppliers and buyers are here with only one end game in mind… increasing business to Jamaica,” she said.

Among the buyers, representing 47 companies, are delegates from Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru.

More than 125 local supplier delegates, including representatives of hotels and attractions, airlines and suppliers of goods and services to the hospitality and tourism industry, are attending JAPEX.