Most Jamaican Tourism Jobs Are Back After Hurricane Melissa, Minister Says
Key Facts
Hurricane Melissa shut much of Jamaica’s hotel industry in late 2025. The tourism minister now says most of the jobs it put at risk have come back.
Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister, said most of the sector’s jobs have returned, the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reported on 18 September. He spoke in a JIS interview at the ministry’s New Kingston offices on Thursday, 17 September.
Why This Matters
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on 28 October 2025 and hit the resort belt of western Jamaica hardest. It came ashore near New Hope in Westmoreland as a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph, according to Wikipedia.
It was the strongest hurricane on record to strike Jamaica, and it killed 45 people on the island. Estimated losses in Jamaica are near US$8.8 billion, and between 40 and 50 percent of hotels were damaged.
Before the storm, arrivals were tracking 2 percent ahead of projections, Bartlett told Parliament in June, The Gleaner reported. The sector formally reopened to visitors on 15 December 2025, according to the same report.
On 19 September, The Rio Times reported that the government’s tourism rebuild plan carries no budget. Jamaica received 2.34 million visitors from January to August, down 17 percent, Bartlett said, Caribbean Journal reported.
Tourism earnings in the same period fell 18 percent to US$2.5 billion, according to the same report. Arrivals at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay dropped 23.65 percent in August alone, The Rio Times reported.
About 70 percent of hotel rooms were operational at the start of September, Caribbean Journal reported. For hotel workers, the question is not the headline arrivals figure but whether their own resort is open.
What Bartlett Said
Bartlett said the storm affected between 15,000 and 20,000 tourism workers, JIS reported. He called that a 30 percent hit, noting that hotels alone directly employ about 60,000 people.
He said hotels kept skeleton crews during repairs rather than laying off all their staff. Of about 15,000 rooms knocked out by the storm, about 6,000 have reopened, he said.
The remaining 9,000 rooms are expected to return by the first quarter of 2027. Arrivals are currently running at about 80 percent of last year’s level, Bartlett said.
He said the sector is “ahead of our room count at the moment” because visitors are using private rentals. Airbnb villas, apartments and homes have filled part of the gap left by closed hotels, JIS reported.
The 2026/27 winter season, the peak period, begins on 15 December with about 80 percent capacity expected. The remaining capacity should come back between January and April 2027, according to the minister.
He described tourism as a major driver of consumption, with tax revenue that helps pay for the wider recovery, JIS reported. That link explains why the government watches hotel jobs as closely as visitor numbers.
Which Hotels Are Back and Which Are Not
Several large resorts have already reopened, which accounts for much of the rehiring. Bahia Principe Runaway Bay, a 664-room resort in St Ann, reopened in April with 800 staff rehired, the Jamaica Observer reported.
Royalton Negril, Hideaway at Royalton Negril and Grand Lido Negril reopened on 25 August, Caribbean Journal reported. Royalton Blue Waters Montego Bay and its Hideaway section were scheduled to reopen on 15 September, according to the same report.
Half Moon in Montego Bay is fully operational again, including its golf course and villas, Caribbean Journal said. The largest group still closed is in the Montego Bay area, where several Hyatt-brand resorts have pushed reopening into early 2027.
They include Secrets St James, Secrets Wild Orchid, Breathless Montego Bay, Dreams Rose Hall and Jewel Grande Montego Bay. Zilara Rose Hall and Ziva Rose Hall are also on that list, according to Caribbean Journal.
Sangster airport’s commercial director, Sharon Hislop-Holt, has said traffic recovery “depends on the reopening of the hotels that are closed”. The closed Montego Bay resorts therefore weigh on both hotel jobs and airline seats into the west of the island.
How the Forecasts Have Moved
The minister’s timetable has slipped more than once since the storm. In late December 2025, Bartlett expected 90 percent of room stock to be operational by early 2026, The Gleaner reported.
At the time, 71 percent of tourism assets were running and arrivals stood at 80 percent of normal, the newspaper said. In an earlier Radio Jamaica report, he warned that some properties might not reopen until mid-2026.
In June, he told Parliament that more than 80 percent of room capacity would be back by summer 2026, The Gleaner reported. He also said 5,648 hotel rooms were scheduled to return to inventory during 2026, according to the same report.
Capacity instead stood near 70 percent in September, and the full return now falls in the first quarter of 2027. Much of the remaining gap sits in a handful of large Montego Bay resorts, according to Caribbean Journal’s list.
The Longer Rebuild
Beyond reopening hotels, the government wants to use the rebuild to reshape tourism on the damaged south coast. In April, Bartlett said a planned National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority would drive that reset, The Gleaner reported.
He named Black River in St Elizabeth as a future tourism hub and said Sandals South Coast was almost ready to reopen. The authority’s bill drew criticism from the opposition and from government member Marlene Malahoo-Forte, according to the same report.
Support for Workers
The government and private sector set up a fund to help tourism workers repair storm-damaged homes, Radio Jamaica reported. In June, Bartlett said 1,500 tourism workers had received vouchers under that housing programme, The Gleaner reported.
He also cited about US$15 million in in-kind assistance mobilised for the sector, according to the same report. The programme offers non-repayable grants to eligible workers, according to the same report.
What It Means If You Are Travelling or Investing
For travellers, the island is open, but the choice of large all-inclusive resorts around Montego Bay remains narrower than before. Visitors booking for the winter season should check that a specific hotel has confirmed its reopening date.
Private rentals are absorbing part of the demand, according to the minister, alongside reopened resorts in Negril. For investors, the recovery in earnings depends on whether the closed resorts return on schedule in early 2027.
What Is Not Yet Known
Bartlett also spoke of about 11,000 rooms still to return, higher than his 9,000 figure. It is also unclear how many workers remain on reduced hours at hotels that are still closed.
Bartlett did not say which large resorts are among the 9,000 rooms still out of service. In June, The Gleaner quoted him saying over 80,000 hotel workers were back, above his current 60,000 estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do Jamaica’s tourism jobs matter?
Hotels alone directly employ about 60,000 Jamaicans, and tourism taxes help fund the storm recovery. Melissa affected up to 20,000 workers.
Have Jamaica’s hotels reopened after Hurricane Melissa?
Partly. About 6,000 of some 15,000 damaged rooms have reopened, and the rest are expected back by early 2027.
Is Jamaica open to tourists now?
Yes. Arrivals are running at about 80 percent of last year, and the winter season begins on 15 December.
Which resorts are still closed?
Several Hyatt-brand resorts around Montego Bay, including Secrets St James and Dreams Rose Hall, expect to reopen in early 2027. Several Negril resorts reopened in August.
Sources: Jamaica Information Service, most tourism jobs return, The Gleaner, tourism workers back on the job after Melissa, The Gleaner, Bartlett hails strong tourism rebound, Radio Jamaica, recovery could take until mid-2026, Jamaica Observer, Bahia Principe Runaway Bay reopens, The Rio Times, tourism rebuild plan and the bond, The Rio Times, August arrivals at Montego Bay, Caribbean Journal, 2.34 million visitors and US$2.5 billion, Wikipedia, Hurricane Melissa
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