St. Mary Parish
St. Mary's Ian Fleming Airport enhanced north coast access while traditional banana and coffee agriculture supports communities between major tourism zones.
St. Mary occupies Jamaica's north-central coast, its position between the major tourism zones of Ocho Rios and Portland creating economic identity more agricultural than visitor-focused. The parish produces bananas, coconuts, coffee, and breadfruit for both domestic consumption and export, traditional crops that predate tourism's emergence as Jamaica's dominant industry.
Ian Fleming International Airport's opening transformed St. Mary's accessibility, international flights landing directly on the north coast rather than requiring ground transport from Kingston or Montego Bay. This infrastructure investment benefits the parish's nascent tourism development while primarily serving St. Ann's established resort industry. The airport's location creates economic spillover that St. Mary captures regardless of whether tourists stay within parish boundaries.
The parish's small size and agricultural character create poverty rates higher than urban areas, young people seeking employment in Kingston or tourism zones that pay wages farming cannot match. Whether airport access catalyzes St. Mary's own tourism development—or whether the parish functions primarily as transit point for destinations elsewhere—determines whether infrastructure investment creates local economic transformation or simply reduces travel friction.