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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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Workers Joyful as Royalton Negril Reopens Amid Wider Tourism Recovery

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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Tourism Minister Calls for Greater Investment in Jamaica’s Carnival

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 23, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says his Ministry is leading the charge in developing the Carnival in Jamaica initiative, to strengthen Jamaica’s competitiveness as an entertainment destination. He lauded the initiative for its economic value to the country as it generated record earnings in 2017, and called for greater investments to be made, to further develop the industry.

Bartlett Pushing for Tourism Innovation City

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; October 21, 2018: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has started plans to create a Tourism Innovation City in Montego Bay. The purpose of the city would be to develop areas of textile, manufacturing and farming among others, to boost the capacity to provide on the supply side of the tourism value chain.

Prime Minister Holness calls for more Investment in Tourism

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; October 19, 2018: Prime Minister, the Most Honourable, Andrew Holness has signalled that Jamaica’s Tourism is ripe for more investments given the consistent growth and development in the sector.

8000 Tourism Workers to be Trained in 5years

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; October 18, 2018: The Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI), the training arm of the Ministry of Tourism, is on target to training 8000 tourism workers over the next five years.

Ground Broken on $26M Salem Beach Upgrades

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 17, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett joined other officials in St. Ann today, for a ground-breaking ceremony at Salem Beach. The beach is being upgraded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to the tune of $26 million, under their National Beach Development Programme.

Bartlett orders Security Audit of Hotels

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 14, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has ordered an intensive security audit of the tourism sector including hotels and attractions as part of efforts to strengthen destination assurance.

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