Durrant Pate/Contributor

Almost 1000 employees at Royalton Negril have returned to work in keeping with its planned reopening, which took place late last week.

Royalton Negril reopened August 25, returning 960 employees to work and restoring 573 guestrooms to Jamaica’s tourism inventory following an extensive restoration after Hurricane Melissa. The property’s parent company plans to reopen sister resorts, Royalton Blue Waters and Royalton Hideaway Blue Waters on September 15, adding 578 guestrooms and returning 1,200 jobs.

The re-openings are part of a broader, phased recovery effort to restore hotel capacity, return workers to their jobs and rebuild visitor confidence. Jamaica’s tourism sector has already brought back 80,000 hotel workers, and about 5,648 hotel guestrooms are scheduled to return to inventory through 2026.

Tourism Minister assess Royalton Negril’s recovery

While touring the newly reopened Royalton Negril, Tourism Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett assessed the property’s recovery and preparations for the upcoming winter tourism season. He was joined by General Manager, Mario Davalos and Regional Commercial Director, Kerry-Ann Quallo-Casserly, as they toured sections of the resort and reviewed the work undertaken ahead of its reopening.

Royalton’s restoration program included investments in infrastructure, guestrooms and guest experiences ahead of the property’s reopening. For Minister Bartlett, “the return of Royalton Negril strengthens the recovery of Jamaica’s vital tourism sector while restoring hundreds of livelihoods and renewing economic activity across Negril and surrounding communities. The reopening comes as hotels across the island continue to return to service, with additional properties scheduled to reopen in the months ahead and reinforces our resilience.”

Continuing, he emphasises, “This demonstrates what is possible when the public and private sectors, tourism partners and communities work together toward recovery. It means real income and a return to the livelihoods of our most treasured asset—our people. It means visitor spending and supporting businesses and communities throughout the tourism value chain—from transportation and attractions to agriculture, entertainment and small and medium-sized enterprises.” 

Other properties set to reopen

Other properties expected to return to service later this year include Sea Garden Hotel, Zoetry Montego Bay, Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean.

“These re-openings are expected to progressively restore room capacity and provide more for us to market globally. It is a significant move that will support our value proposition to attract more visitors,” explains Director of Tourism, Donovan White.