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.

Latest News

Bartlett Heads to Canada to Participate in Major Tourism Resilience Symposium

KINGSTON, Jamaica; Monday, July 27, 2026: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, will depart the island later today for Toronto, Canada, where he will serve as keynote speaker at the Canadian–Caribbean Tourism Resilience Symposium: Co-Designing the Next Decade, being hosted by George Brown Polytechnic’s Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) from July 29-30, 2026. The symposium will convene senior government officials, international tourism leaders, academics, policymakers and private sector stakeholders from Canada and the Caribbean to examine the future of tourism through the lenses of resilience, innovation, sustainability and strategic partnership. Discussions will focus on strengthening tourism systems, advancing climate resilience, harnessing artificial intelligence and digital transformation, and fostering greater collaboration between the two regions.

Recently elected president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), O’Brian Heron (left) makes copious notes as he listens keenly to Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett during a courtesy call by the new JHTA executive on the minister on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

MOT, JHTA Affirm New Era of Closer Collaboration for Tourism 3.0 Success

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Tuesday, July 21, 2026: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has signalled a new era of closer collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism, its public bodies and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), following an inaugural strategic meeting with the Association’s newly elected executive at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Thursday, July 16. The meeting, held three weeks after O’Brian Heron was elected JHTA president, focused on strengthening public-private sector cooperation as Jamaica advances its Tourism 3.0 agenda and continues recovering from the effects of Hurricane Melissa. Congratulating Mr. Heron on what he described as “a very emphatic victory,” Minister Bartlett reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to maintaining the JHTA as a central partner in tourism governance, noting that the proposed establishment of the Tourism Authority is intended to strengthen, not diminish, the Association’s role.

Minster of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett passionately delivers his keynote address entitled “Empowering Communities and Reimagining Jamaica through Tourism 3.0” at yesterday’s (June 16) National Community-based Tourism Resilience Symposium held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Expand from ‘Samples to Ample’ and Build Community Tourism – Bartlett

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; Friday, July 17, 2026: Community tourism is being positioned to play a leading role in driving Jamaica’s Local First policy direction under the Ministry of Tourism’s new Tourism 3.0 growth strategy but Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says there has to be a strategic shift from being a country of samples to one of ample. “Tourism is nothing but community; it’s everything we do in the community that creates the experiences that give people the desire to return,” he posited while underscoring that the real wealth of tourism is to be found in meeting the supply needs. “We the people of Jamaica must own and in fact direct the supply side of tourism,” Bartlett asserted, noting that, “It is about us building out communities, so we have to build out our farming districts, our fishing villages, our heritage towns, maroon communities, cultural corridors all across the country.”