Destination Assurance white paper to be tabled in Parliament shortly
Published:Monday | January 19, 2026 | 12:05 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
A white paper on Destination Assurance, aimed at strengthening Jamaica’s tourism industry in order to ensure its sustainability, was presented to Cabinet last Monday and is expected to come to Parliament shortly.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett made the disclosure during a media luncheon at the Kimberly Hotel in Manhattan last Thursday, where he urged members of the media to spread the word that the Jamaican tourism sector is open for business.
According to Bartlett, Destination Assurance speaks to a safe, secure and seamless tourism experience.
While not going into details on the white paper, he said the aim of the assurance is to bring together all local partners in the overall tourism economic system to collaborate in ensuring delivery of all services to achieve the desired outcome of a safe, secure and seamless tourism experience.
“We recognise that tourism is not an entity unto itself but relies on various moving parts such as government, ministries, agencies, as well as the private sector, and so the aim is to ensure that tourists coming to Jamaica have the best experience possible,” he told the assembled media professionals.
He said it was important for the market to have confidence that issues such as travel advisories and other external factors are addressed when they arise.
To do this, he said, it was necessary to bring all the parties that contribute to the overall tourism experience together to collaborate in this effort.
Speaking about the industry’s recovery effort following Hurricane Melissa, Bartlett said that, since the start of the winter tourist season more than a half million visitors have visited the island, earning the Jamaican economy some US$545 million. Of this number of visitors, cruise passengers accounted for just under 200,000 visitors.
According to Bartlett, some 70 per cent of the industry has reopened.
He said some hotels that were more affected by the hurricane will reopen in February, some in March, with others coming online later.
“We expected 95 per cent of the room stock to be ready and moving by the last quarter of 2026,” he said.
The minister said that, in light of the hurricane, one notable outcome is that there has been no cancellation of tourism projects that are already in the pipeline.
“I am heading to Spain next week where I will be meeting with three new investors,” he told the gathered journalists.
He noted that there are many geopolitical and economic factors influencing travel at this time and said that the re-imaging of the industry must be a priority.
“Confidence has to be the narrative of the day and, for the Jamaican tourism industry, we are very confident in the product that we offer the travelling public,” he said.
Bartlett, noting that flying to Jamaica is not a problem, said the Caribbean region must continue to be seen as a zone of peace.
“We have made and continue to make entry to Jamaica as easy as possible, and we will continue to do so. Jamaica is the most connected destination in the Caribbean but we need for this to be emphasised to the market,” he said.
He said Jamaica’s recovery is going to redefine the industry with new experiences.
“We will be redefining the tourism experience for all our visitors,” he said, noting that the recent hurricane offers the opportunity to provide visitors with a better tourism experience.
The minister also met with travel advisers and other industry players at a reception in Manhattan later Thursday evening where he thanked them for their continued dedication to selling Jamaica in the marketplace and urged them to continue to spread the word that Jamaica’s tourism industry is open for business.