Record number of Chinese tourists arrive in Jamaica after visa restrictions lifted

Roughly 1,000 Chinese tourists have disembarked from a cruise ship in a Jamaican resort town in what the Caribbean island touts as a "groundbreaking" visit.

The Chinese tourists arrived Wednesday in the northern town of Ocho Rios aboard the 12-deck cruise ship Costa Atlantica. Jamaica's tourism ministry says the group is on an 86-day cruise that began in Shanghai on March 1.

Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill says the ship has brought a "record-number of Chinese visitors to our shores."

Last year, Jamaica allowed visa-free travel for vacationers from China as the island tries to develop new markets for its tourism industry.

In recent years, Jamaica has also relaxed visa requirements for nationals of countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Colombia.

"China is the largest tourism source market in the world in terms of spending," McNeill said.