Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that the Government, in partnership with hotels, will launch a national policy to build homes for tourism workers this year.

He shared that the Ministry of Tourism has already entered into partnerships with the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), National Housing Trust (NHT), and private housing developers for units in Rhyne Park Estate and Grange Pen, St. James, to be reserved for tourism workers.

“We also welcome the pledge by four major international hotel investor groups, including RCD Hotels, Bahia Principe, and Princess Resorts, which combined, have committed to constructing over 2,000 residential units for industry employees,” said the Prime Minister in his New Year’s message.

He added that as the tourism sector expands, it is important to ensure that workers get more of the benefits and have a more sustainable view of the tourism product. Holness stressed that the aim of the project is to not just build hotels but the community around them.

The prime minister noted that tourism has always been a major employer of labour. However, there has been no planned housing and accommodations for the workers in the industry.

“We are now seeing the limiting impact of unplanned developments on the tourism product,” he said.

Despite these limitations, Holness said that tourism was a star performer in 2023 and will continue to have a catalytic impact in transforming the social and economic lives of the Jamaican people.

He made special mention of the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) platform, a collaborative initiative between the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) that has generated over $1 billion in sales by small farmers to local hotels and restaurants.