Durrant Pate/ Contributor

As Jamaica recovers from Hurricane Melissa, its available room stock has now grown to over 70 per cent, with several closed resort properties still to come online. 

Director of Tourism, Donovan White, who made the disclosure notes that while there has not been a full reopening of tourism on the island as of yet, numerous hotels, including The Tryall Club, Sunset At The Palms Resort, the S Hotel in Montego Bay and Kingston, and five Sandals/Beaches resorts have again been welcoming guests for the current winter tourism season.

While the strongest storm of the 2025 season and the third-strongest Atlantic storm ever significantly impeded arrivals and caused Jamaica to miss its 2025 tourism target of 4.3 million visitors, the island’s quick rebound gave renewed hope for 2026, receiving 300,000 visitors in seven weeks following the Category 5 storm on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

“This has truly been a collaborative effort. Hotels, attractions, transportation providers and government agencies have worked around the clock to ensure that Jamaica is ready to welcome our guests,” declared Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett. Prior to the hurricane, Jamaica was pacing 2% ahead of 2024’s record numbers but now, it’s likely the island will receive somewhere between 70 and 80% of last year’s arrivals. 

In forecasting for this year, Minister Bartlett expects Jamaica to reach 95 to 98% of its 2024 arrivals, pushing a full rebound to 2027 or later. In the meantime, some properties such as Hyatt’s Breathless Montego Bay Resort & Spa, Dreams Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa, Secrets St. James Montego Bay and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay will all remain closed for most of 2026. However, Zoëtry Montego Bay, Jamaica, is expected to reopen in March 2026.

Using the lull time for redevelopment

Speaking recently, the Tourism Minister reported that the destination plans to use this time to redevelop the resort areas hit by the storm so that they may be more welcoming to visitors in the future. Among the resort locations being considered are Falmouth and Black River. As for the latter, Bartlett suggested rebuilding the town further inland to create “hugely touristic areas” along the waterfront.

Lucea, a coastal town in Hanover, located between Montego Bay and Negril, is also being looked at for tourist-forward redevelopment, as is Hopewell, also in Hanover, located between Montego Bay and Lucea. As for Falmouth, however, Bartlett said the updates would “redefine cruise tourism.” It’s currently home to the island’s largest cruise port. Other updates call for new highway systems and telecommunications, not to mention the continued progress on five “mega-resorts” with a combined investment between $3 and 4 billion. 

Those include the UNICO 18°77° Hotel Montego Bay/Hard Rock Hotel and Casino complex; The Pinnacle, Jamaica; Harmony Cove; and the expansions of Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa and Bahia Principe. “In the next three to four years, the development in Jamaica is going to change the landscape significantly,” Bartlett promised.