Jamaica's tourism sector hit a major comeback marker after Hurricane Melissa tore through as a Category 5 storm, with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett confirming over 300,000 people have shown up since the disaster. The count covers both cruise passengers and regular arrivals, and all the big resort zones like Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Negril, and Kingston are back online for the winter rush.
The government managed to get operations running again within about six weeks, and the three main airports are handling normal traffic. Hotels are sitting at roughly 71% reopened by year's end, with more properties expected to come back through early 2026.
Tourism makes up over 30% of the country's economy and keeps about a third of workers employed, so getting visitors back matters for household income across the island. Officials logged 4.3 million arrivals in 2024, and they're banking on a full recovery by late 2026.
The government managed to get operations running again within about six weeks, and the three main airports are handling normal traffic. Hotels are sitting at roughly 71% reopened by year's end, with more properties expected to come back through early 2026.
Tourism makes up over 30% of the country's economy and keeps about a third of workers employed, so getting visitors back matters for household income across the island. Officials logged 4.3 million arrivals in 2024, and they're banking on a full recovery by late 2026.
