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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Bartlett Set to Speak at Major Global Citizen Forum in the UAE

KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 10, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has been invited by organizers of the Global Citizen Forum (GCF) to speak at the high-level event in his capacity as an “avid visionary with an exemplary commitment to inspiring a better world” and to share his mission with the GCF community of governments, international organizations, civil society and global citizens.
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Tourism Ministry to Implement Craft Trader Capacity Building Programme

KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 9, 2021: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced that his Ministry will implement a special Winter Tourist Season Capacity Building Support Programme for the island's craft traders. The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is spearheading the initiative, which will provide grants to licensed craft vendors to assist them in preparing for the anticipated influx of tourists during the Winter Tourist Season, which begins on December 15.
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Jamaica’s Tourism Sector to be Restructured to Increase Retention of Visitor Spend

KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 3, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has emphasised that Jamaica is restructuring the tourism industry to ensure that more of the earnings from the sector go to the small and medium tourism enterprises.
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Bartlett Elected New Chair of OAS Inter-American Committee on Tourism

KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 1, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett was elected by acclamation as the new Chairman of the esteemed Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR), during a meeting of the Integral Council for Development (CIDI) yesterday.
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JCTI’s Successful Partnership with AHLEI to be Documented in Case Study

KINGSTON, Jamaica; December 1, 2021: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI), a vital partner of the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI), has agreed to publish a special training case study focusing on Jamaica. The decision was made because, since the partnership began four years ago, over 8,000 Jamaican tourism workers have received professional certification.
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Bartlett Welcomes the Return of Cruise to Montego Bay

KINGSTON, Jamaica; November 30, 2021: Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett has emphasised that Jamaica’s tourism sector will cross a major threshold in its recovery tomorrow (December 1) with the Montego Bay Cruise Port set to welcome its first cruise ship since the re-opening of the local cruise industry.
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