.jpg)
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett - file photo
.png)
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says tourism is on the rebound following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in October.
In an interview with Radio Jamaica News, Minister Bartlett said he is pleasantly surprised by the pace of the restoration to the sector following the destruction caused by Melissa.
Mr. Bartlett said he was also in discussions with the operators of the Hyatt Hotel chain which suspended the operations of seven of its hotels until November 1, 2026.
He said tourists are again flocking to the island "and getting to where we had up to the 31st of December 450,000 visitors coming and generating US$474 million for the economy."
"We are looking into continuing that recovery programme. We have about seven or so properties that are still to come back on stream. I'm having discussions with our stakeholders with regards to timelines and I'm anticipating a contraction of some of the timelines as the repair work is moving apace," he noted.
The minister added that there will be significant improvements in the hotel infrastructure in the coming weeks to help revive the sector.
"The new hotels that are under construction are still moving apace and some new ones are going to start construction in the first quarter of this year. Our airline partners are still very bullish about Jamaica and I'm anticipating that the recovery will only strengthen as we go on with the experience," he stressed.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
