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.
Having started reopening of the sector last December with 70% of room stock, Minister Bartlett is delighted that “the sector’s recovery is going extremely well,” notwithstanding global geopolitical challenges that have created logistical issues and supply chain disruptions.
He asserted that: “What is sure is how steadfast our workers have been and how focused our partners have been in getting stocks back in good time, but the better story is that Jamaica is bouncing forward stronger and better with higher quality service.”
Only on Monday, the Ministry of Tourism launched its 2026 Tourism Service Excellence Awards (TSEA), which Minister Bartlett said, highlights “how important it is that service, which constitutes 60% of the value of the experience of the visitors in the destination, is not just premium, but it's being showcased, it's being highlighted, and it's being rewarded.”
He noted that the reopening of Royalton Negril comes a week ahead of the September target that had been set, however, Royalton Blue Waters in Trelawny and Royalton Chic in Montego Bay are on stream to reopen early next month with a combined 1,200 rooms.
Asserting a commitment to full recovery, Mr. Bartlett said in 2027 Jamaica’s tourism sector will be better and stronger than ever before.
“One of the real reasons why we need to stick to our word and, in fact, to recover on point and in time, is that it builds confidence in our airline partners, so that they can go ahead and create their routes and do their calculations in terms of flight availability for us, as well as units and equipment that are going to be available, and they could also be able to remove equipment from places that are not doing so well and send them to Jamaica,” Minister Bartlett noted. He emphasized that “it's also critical that the message gets to our airline partners: do not reroute, plan to increase rotation, because we are coming back stronger.”
Sharing that millions of US dollars was invested in the ongoing restoration, Royalton’s Regional Commercial Director Kerry-Ann Quallo-Casserly informed that “not only did we invest in the infrastructure, in terms of the whole refresh that you have seen and the accommodation, but we have taken time to invest in training and development with our in-house HR talent, working hand in hand with Heart NSTA, and all the other resources available via JCTI (Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation) in the Ministry of Tourism.”
Royalton’s primary markets are the USA, Canada and the UK and Mrs. Quallo-Casserly said with travellers looking for a bespoke experience, the hotel has redone its menus to ensure all thematic restaurants are aligned with the perspective and the expectations of international and Jamaican residents alike with gastronomic delights, electrifying entertainment and recreation that includes a catamaran cruise.
