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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 to Meet with Tour Operators in London

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; September 26, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett departed the island yesterday to attend the Jamaica Travel Market (JTM) in London. This trip forms part of the Ministry’s new strategy to aggressively target new and traditional markets, to attain double-digit growth and promote Jamaica as the ideal winter tourism destination.

Jamaica embraces Japan’s place of pre-eminence in the field of Tourism Resilience

TOKYO, Japan; September 25, 2018: Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, along with His Excellency Ricardo Allicock, Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan, met recently, with Mr. Hiromi Tagawa, President of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and Chairman of the Board of the JTB Corp., to continue discussions on Japan’s partnership with Jamaica in the establishment of a Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management, which is to be housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

2017 was the most Significant Growth Year for Tourism – says Bartlett

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica; September 24, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett says that 2017 has been the most significant year to date in the island’s tourism history – shattering records in arrivals, earnings and investments.

Japan Joins the Global Tourism Resilience Centre Board of Governors

Tokyo, Japan; September 21, 2018: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett met, today, with the immediate past President of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), Dr. Ryoichi Matsuyama, who is also the current Trustee of the prestigious International University of Japan, as part of his engagements with senior level officials of Japan’s Tourism Sector, to further deepen cooperation between Jamaica and Japan’s tourism, as well as forge partnerships in the establishment of the Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management in Jamaica. The meeting was convened in the margins of the 2018 Japan Tourism Expo, which is being held in Tokyo, Japan, from 20th to 23rd September 2018.

Bartlett to Re-Engage Japanese Market

KINGSTON, Jamaica; September 19, 2018: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett departed the island yesterday, to attend the Tourism Expo Japan 2018 and VISIT JAPAN Travel & MICE Mart 2018, taking place in Tokyo from September 20 – 23, 2018.

Tourism Awareness Week to Focus on Digital Transformation

KINGSTON, Jamaica; September 18, 2018: The Ministry of Tourism, its agencies and industry partners will seek to further raise awareness about the importance of digital technologies in tourism, during its annual celebration of Tourism Awareness Week (TAW).

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