Negril on Track to Fully Reopen on December 15

Speaking in Negril on November 28, 2025, Minister Bartlett confirmed that the town’s December 15 reopening is secured, thanks to rapid community-driven cleanup efforts and unwavering investor confidence, positioning the destination for a strong winter season after the disruptions caused by Hurricane Melissa.

New $1 Billion Fund Established to Assist Tourism Workers Impacted by Melissa

During a recovery tour in Ocho Rios on November 24, 2025, Minister Bartlett outlined the creation of a $1 billion public-private fund designed to support tourism workers with housing and rehabilitation needs following Hurricane Melissa, accelerating the sector’s rebound ahead of the winter season.

Jamaica Becomes Caribbean’s Most Connected Destination

In Montego Bay on September 23, 2025, at JAPEX 2025 Minister Bartlett revealed that Jamaica has soared to the top of regional connectivity, achieving unmatched global links through expanded airlift, major infrastructure upgrades, and strategic workforce investments.

Bartlett Names Local First Task Force to Drive Inclusive Tourism Growth

Announced in Montego Bay on September 25, 2025, Minister Edmund Bartlett’s establishment of the Local First Task Force, chaired by Hon. Tova Hamilton, signals a decisive move to strengthen local capacity, reshape policy frameworks, and ensure that Jamaica retains more of the economic value generated as visitor numbers climb.

Global Tourism Resilience Conference 2025

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett called for global tourism stakeholders to embrace digital technologies to build industry resilience at the opening of the 3^rd Global Tourism Resilience Conference & Expo, held from February 17-19, 2025, at the Princess Grand Jamaica, Hanover.

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Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (centre) joins fellow panellists on stage at the Americas Investment Forum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Minister Bartlett participated in a panel discussion under the theme “Building a Regional Tourism Integrated Strategy,” joining counterparts from across the hemisphere to examine how investment promotion agencies and governments can align to attract capital into sustainable tourism and related sectors.

Bartlett Unveils Jamaica’s Tourism 3.0 Framework at Americas Investment Forum

Tourism Minister Calls for Caribbean “Co-petition” to Drive Next Era of Tourism Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Thursday, July 2, 2026: “The future of tourism will be defined not by the number of visitors destinations attract, but by the value tourism creates for their people,” Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, declared today as he unveiled Jamaica’s Tourism 3.0 Framework at the Americas Investment Forum 2026. Speaking during the leadership panel on “Building a Regionally Integrated Tourism Strategy,” Minister Bartlett said the global tourism industry is entering a new competitive era where destinations succeed by combining resilience, innovation, skilled people, seamless visitor experiences and strong governance to create sustainable economic value. “Jamaica’s Tourism 3.0 Framework recognises that the future of tourism is not simply about growing visitor arrivals, but about growing the value tourism creates for workers, businesses, communities and the wider economy,” Bartlett said. “The destinations that will lead tomorrow are those that invest not only in hotels, but in people, partnerships, productivity, resilience and trust,” he added.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (standing) has a captive audience as all eyes are focused on him during his address recently to the 65th annual general meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), at Sandals Dunns River, St. Ann. The Minister put the JHTA on notice that it will be required to play a leading role in driving the new Tourism 3.0 growth agenda across the entire sector.

JHTA has Crucial Role to Play in Driving Tourism 3.0 Growth Agenda - Bartlett

OCHO RIOS, Jamaica; Wednesday, July 1, 2026: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has put the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) on notice that it will be required to play a leading role in driving the new Tourism 3.0 growth agenda across the entire sector. Confident that “ours is a wonderful future ahead” for Jamaica’s tourism, Minister Bartlett told JHTA members at their 65th annual general meeting at Sandals Dunns River recently, that while government is looking at reimagining the tourism product, “the gatekeepers, of which the JHTA is number one, have to reinvent themselves,” adding, “this is your moment to reexamine and to reimagine what you are about and how you are going to move tourism into the next decade.” Having billions of dollars invested in the tourism industry, Minister Bartlett said he wanted to see more of the sector’s investors “being inserted in the leadership and direction of the JHTA.”

Minister Bartlett Heads to the Dominican Republic for Americas Investment Forum

Tourism Minister Slated to Tour New Moon Palace Resort in Punta Cana KINGSTON, Jamaica; Tuesday, June 30, 2026: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, departs the island this afternoon for a high-level working visit to the Dominican Republic, where he will represent Jamaica as a featured panellist at the Americas Investment Forum in Santo Domingo and tour one of the Caribbean’s newest mega-resorts. Minister Bartlett is expected to arrive in Punta Cana later this afternoon, for an on-the-ground inspection of the newly established Moon Palace Hotel, a flagship addition to the Dominican Republic’s accommodation portfolio. The visit will give the tourism minister first-hand insight into the property's design, operations and integration into the wider Punta Cana tourism ecosystem, ahead of his participation in regional investment discussions. The property serves as a model for the Moon Palace The Grand Montego Bay luxury resort, now being built in St. James.