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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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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Minister McNeill Hails Carrole Guntley on CTO Lifetime Achievement Award

Statement by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill congratulating former Director General, Carrole Guntley on Receiving the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award
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Cabinet Approves Introduction of National Entertainment Registry and Event Rating System

Kingston, Jamaica: June 11, 2014 - Cabinet has approved the establishment of a National Registry of Entertainment Practitioners and the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment is currently streamlining the processes necessary to make the system fully operational and compliant with the new Fiscal Incentives regime. The announcement was made by State Minister in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, the Hon. Damion Crawford, during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament, on Tuesday, June 10, 2014.
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Entertainment Events to be Used to Woo Summer Tourists

Kingston, Jamaica: June 12, 2014: Local entertainment events are to play a pivotal role in attracting summer vacationers to the island. This as the innovative summer entertainment programme, “90 Days of Summer” announced by the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment last year, has been rebranded and will be rolled-out across the entire island.
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Open Call for Reggae Month Events Extended to September 10

Kingston, Jamaica: August 28, 2014 – The Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment has extended its open call for the submission of new and existing entertainment events to be added to the ‘Reggae Month| its Kingston for February’ 2015 calendar, to Wednesday, September 10, 2014.
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TEF Donates Motorcycles to the Negril Police

NEGRIL, Westmoreland: August 31, 2014: As part of an ongoing effort to further enhance safety and security in resort areas island-wide, the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), has been pumping millions of dollars into boosting the crime fighting efforts of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The latest move in this initiative was the donation of three Yamaha motorcycles to the Negril police on Friday, August 29, 2014.
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TPDCo Equips Police Officers to Become Team Jamaica Trainers

Kingston Jamaica: September 2, 2014 - The first batch of police officers to be trained as team trainers in The Tourism Product Development Company Ltd.’s (TPDCo.) flagship “ Team Jamaica” programme completed this rigorous exercise in Kingston recently. Over six days, the group of eighteen were taken, through an intensive training programme, which included sessions on tourism, including tourism awareness, trends in tourism, impact of tourism, marketing of Jamaica and the Tourist Board Act. The officers were exposed to topics on coaching, leadership and motivation;
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