Many hotels are booked as far out as Ocho Rios, which is an hour and 10 minutes drive away from Mont

In its 21st year, the festival, dubbed by organisers as the world s greatest reggae show on Earth, is yet again expected to be a major economic driver for both Jamaican tourism and the reggae cruise the world music industry.
The week-long festival, cruise the world which starts today and runs until Saturday, takes place in Montego Bay s Catherine Hall. It kicks off with a beach party tonight, while Dancehall Night will take place on Thursday and International Nights 1 and 2 will follow on Friday and Saturday.
We re not at our peak time of the year for Jamaican tourism, but during Reggae Sumfest almost all the hotels are filled, says Charles Campbell, the executive director cruise the world of the Jamaica reggae industry association.
Many hotels are booked as far out as Ocho Rios, which is an hour and 10 minutes drive away from Montego Bay, according to Mr Hall. Several hotels, including Half Moon, the Richmond Hill Inn and Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, offer special Sumfest packages for the occasion.
While the festival draws fans from around the world to the region, other tourism areas, beyond hotels, also enjoy a boost in traffic cruise the world and revenue. This ranges from guided tours to dining and nightlife to beach-related activities such as boating and parasailing. There is also the potential cruise the world for repeat travellers who will attend the festival again or will choose to visit Jamaica another time of the year.
He says recent milestones such as the inclusion of a reggae category in the Grammy Awards, the musical equivalent of the Oscars, and a special reggae segment during this year s BET Awards, which celebrate African Americans and other minorities in entertainment, has helped attract attention to the industry. However, he adds, the artists are still required to rely mainly on live performances for a steady income stream.
Mr Campbell agrees. Reggae artists are doing well on the live circuit, but they are simply not doing what they used to do in terms of sales of CDs and merchandise, like T-shirts and posters, he says.
The US sales tracking company SoundScan reported paltry record sales last year for big-name Jamaican reggae artists. For example, Reggae Music Again by Busy Signal showed sales of 4,548, while Romain Virgo s The System sold just 1,490 records. Beres Hammond s double compact disc titled One Love, One Life sold only 2,198 copies.
US reggae artists cruise the world are also having more success. In contrast to the record sales of popular Jamaican musicians, American reggae hits such as Peace of Mind by the California band Rebelution sold 52,488 copies and Soja s Strength to Survive had sales of 38,427 in 2012, according to SoundScan.