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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Jamaica on Track for Record Visitor Arrivals in 2022

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 15, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that 2022 will be a historic year for the tourism sector, with record arrivals and groundbreaking agreements.
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Minister Bartlett Warns Tourism Players Not to Charge for Job Recruitment

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 13, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has warned tourism stakeholders to desist from charging individuals seeking to secure jobs in the sector. Noting that it is tantamount to scamming, Minister Bartlett said “nobody is to pay an agent or any intermediary for any recruitment opportunity for work in the tourism sector at this time.”
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Local Tourism Industry Being Re-imagined to Support More SMTEs

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 09, 2022: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says that his ministry has made it a priority to re-imagine the local tourism sector by creating strategic policies, programmes, and initiatives that can aid in building the resilience and increasing the capacity of local small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) to earn more.
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Minister Bartlett Welcomes Return of Reggae Sumfest

KINGSTON, Jamaica; May 20, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has welcomed the return of Jamaica’s premier music festival, Reggae Sumfest to the island’s calendar of events.
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Preparations for World Free Zones Conference in High Gear – Bartlett

Dubai, UAE; May 15, 2022: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right) and Chairman of the World Free Zones Organization (WFZO), H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, discuss logistics for the Caribbean's first World Free Zones Organization Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE), which will be hosted by Jamaica from June 13-17, 2022, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
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Emirates Airlines Now Selling Seats to Jamaica

DUBAI, UAE; May 10, 2022: In a historic first for Jamaica and the Caribbean, Emirates Airlines, the largest airline in the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC), is now selling seats to Jamaica. This arrangement opens gateways from the Middle East, Asia and Africa to Jamaica and the rest of the region.
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