Government of Jamaica

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Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (right) receives a welcome hug, one of the many he received on his tour of Royalton Negril on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Management and staff were out in their numbers to greet the Minister at the restart of operations following a multi-million-dollar restoration in the wake of last year’s hurricane.

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NEGRIL, Jamaica; Thursday, August 27, 2026: Pulsating music, dance and colourful dresses marked the reopening of the Royalton Negril hotel and the return of nearly 1,000 workers to their jobs. The hotel reopened at 50 percent occupancy, which is expected to rise to 80 percent over the US Thanksgiving period, and is already sold out for Jamaica’s Heroes Weekend and Christmas. Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, was excited as he moved among staff members and was greeted with gleeful smiles as he toured the property to see firsthand its multi-million-dollar recovery from the impact of hurricane Melissa. “When I walked in, I saw that 960 workers were back on the job, and that by Thanksgiving, I'm told, the other 320 will be back, and we will have a full complement of 1,200 workers employed. That means families are now going to be more secure. It's coming back at the right time with back to school,” Minister Bartlett said.

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Bartlett to meet with United Nations’ division of Partners and other Investors in New York

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 9, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, leaves the island today to meet with the United Nations’ division of partners and other potential tourism investors in New York.

Kenyan President Confirmed as Tourism Resilience Centre Honorary Co-Chair

KINGSTON, Jamaica – August 8, 2019: President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, has accepted Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett’s invitation to be Honorary Co-Chair (representing Africa) of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM).

Jamaica exploring more Air Connectivity in Europe Post Brexit

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 8, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica is actively exploring additional air connectivity options out of Europe, in light of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union – which is more popularly known as Brexit. The decision for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) was made in 2016 through a referendum.

Bartlett Challenges Farmers to Meet Tourism’s Demand for Agricultural Produce

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 5, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has challenged the local agricultural sector to make a greater effort to satisfy the demands of Jamaica’s tourism sector for fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry.

United Nations on board with Global Resilience Centre to help tackle Sargassum threat, says Bartlett

KINGSTON, Jamaica; August 2, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says the United Nations (UN) is fully on board to improve coordinated action and share expertise and resources with the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM, as it relates to the threat of sargassum to the region.

Bartlett meets with Embassy Officials regarding Security Audit Report

KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 30, 2019: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett today met with key Embassy officials to discuss the recent security audit report. The Embassy officials, which included representatives from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, were updated by Minister Bartlett on the sector’s strategic plans to create a new architecture for security and next steps.