Tourism Minister Bartlett outlines 10-year growth plan as sectoral debate resumes in Parliament

Parliament resumed its sectoral debate on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett leading presentations on the state and direction of Jamaica's tourism industry under the theme "Trust and Confidence."

Bartlett, who represents St. James East Central, told the House that Hurricane Melissa in October 2025 interrupted momentum but did not break the sector. Before the storm, visitor arrivals were tracking about two per cent ahead of projections and earnings about five per cent ahead. Jamaica reopened tourism on December 15, 2025, and in 2025 welcomed 3.7 million visitors, including 1.1 million cruise passengers, with estimated gross earnings of US$4 billion.

The minister said recovery has accelerated despite limited hotel inventory. By mid-2026, with roughly 70 per cent of rooms available, Jamaica had already recorded one million stopover arrivals and 664,000 cruise passengers. About 80,000 hotel workers have returned to jobs, and hotel capacity is projected to reach roughly 95 per cent by December and full restoration in the first quarter of 2027.

Bartlett framed the sector's future around Tourism 3.0, moving beyond arrivals and rooms toward deeper local retention, stronger linkages and modern governance. Cabinet has approved the Local First concept, and the ministry will pursue a tourism logistics supply centre as an industry-specific special economic zone. Dollar retention from tourism has risen from 20 cents on the dollar in 2016 to 40.8 cents today.

A new 10-by-10-by-10 target aims for 10 million visitors and US$10 billion in earnings over the next decade. New air services include expanded flights from Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Copa Airlines, among others. The minister also announced plans to integrate artificial intelligence into foreign-language training for tourism workers and said destination assurance policies have already been tabled.

He paid tribute to retiring Tourism Enhancement Fund chairman Godfrey Dyer and recognised workers and partners who supported recovery after Melissa, including relief efforts valued at about US$15 million.

Following Bartlett, Westmoreland Western MP Ian Hill, the opposition's water shadow minister, argued that water policy remains uneven and under-resourced. Hill said 24 per cent of Jamaican households still lack piped potable water and questioned why 85 per cent of J$4.2 billion in planned expansion projects listed by Water Minister Matthew Samuda in April were allocated to constituencies represented by Jamaica Labour Party MPs.

Hill cited fragile links between electricity and water supply, noting that the June 5 islandwide blackout again disrupted transmission. He said the National Water Commission pays about J$1 billion monthly for electricity and owes J$33 billion, while criticising slow progress on energy-efficiency projects and the US$425 million Western resilience programme as poorly prioritised for long-term national need.