Jamaica will receive approximately 400,000 airline seats from Canada during the 2026/2027 winter season, opening the way for further growth in the island’s second largest source market.

The increase will give Canadian travellers more flight choices, higher frequency and additional direct routes to Jamaica’s 2 major airports. Expanded operations by Air Canada and Sunwing, along with new nonstop service from Porter Airlines, are driving the increase.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett described the expanded airlift as “a direct vote of trust and confidence” in Jamaica’s tourism product and its airline partnerships with Air Canada, Sunwing, WestJet and Porter. He said the development reflected the market’s continuing importance as Jamaica competes for international visitors.

The new capacity is also tied to targets under the Tourism 3.0 framework. Jamaica aims to attract 600,000 visitors from Canada annually by 2030 and generate US$750 million in tourism earnings from the market.

Donovan White, director of tourism, said achieving those goals would require sustained airlift growth. “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,” he said.

Porter’s flights will join services operated by Air Canada, Flair, Transat, Caribbean Airlines and WestJet during the winter schedule. The Jamaica Tourist Board is working with airlines, travel agents and tour operators to convert the added seats into visitor growth in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Halifax, Moncton, St. John, Winnipeg and Hamilton.

Angella Bennett, regional director for Canada, said the expansion supported Jamaica’s strategy of diversifying airlift across major source markets. She said it would strengthen the destination’s resilience and competitiveness.

Jamaica Tourist Board, founded in 1955, is headquartered in Kingston. It maintains offices in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London, with representatives in Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris.

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