Community Resilience in Negril After Hurricane Melissa

NEGRIL, Jamaica – Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has declared that Negril will officially reopen for business on December 15, 2025. This follows a rapid and coordinated recovery effort after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, highlighting the strength of community resilience.

At the end of a Negril Tourism Recovery Tour this weekend, Minister Bartlett spoke about the resort area. This area, known as the “Capital of Casual,” has shown great strength and resilience in the community. This resilience is driven by strong collaboration among tourism partners, their workers, and surrounding communities.

The tour placed particular emphasis on Negril’s signature boutique hotels. It also included major resort properties and key attractions along the corridor.

Across the board, operators reported that the eagerness of staff and community members to rally around cleanup efforts has allowed many properties to begin receiving guests again. They are also preparing for the critical winter tourist season. This underscores that Negril’s recovery is being led from the ground up, driven by community resilience and by small Jamaican businesses that define the destination’s character.

Recounting several of the most moving examples, Minister Bartlett highlighted how recovery has been powered by people. This includes even those who suffered personal loss.

Chukka Ocean Outpost

At Chukka Ocean Outpost in Sandy Bay, staff who themselves were hit hard by the hurricane still turned up for work. Their determination to restore the attraction quickly is another example of community resilience.

Along Negril’s West End at Tensing Pen, nearly 100 residents came out the day after the storm to clean up the hotel. Thanks to them, it could reopen. The boutique resort is now projecting occupancy levels of over 80 percent early in the winter season.

Coco La Palm

At Coco La Palm, a long-standing repeat visitor shared how his 8th Grade daughter, Gabby Nichols, raised US$7,500 through a GoFundMe campaign to support hotel workers affected by the storm – a testament to the emotional bond guests feel with Negril and its people.

“I’m very pleased that, notwithstanding how hard the destination struggled at the beginning, we are there,” Minister Bartlett announced. “I can say to the world that Negril is ready for business and will officially open on December 15 as planned.”

Beyond human stories of resilience, Minister Bartlett underscored the strong investor confidence in Negril and Jamaica’s wider tourism sector, noting that all major projects remain on track.

“A second element is the extent to which our partners’ confidence remains very high in the destination,” he pointed out. “Every single property that had planned expansion and further development is still going through with its programme. These investments will secure jobs, deepen local supply chains and strengthen tourism’s contribution to Jamaica’s economy.”

Major Hotel Projects

• Grand Palladium Resort & Spa

Among the major projects, the Grand Palladium Resort & Spa in Hanover has confirmed that preliminary works have begun for the construction of an additional 1,000 rooms. This project is slated to commence in January 2026. Across the island, other resort properties have also reaffirmed their development timelines.

• Bahia Principe

Bahia Principe will refurbish its 1,300 rooms and construct a further 365 high-end luxury rooms to be opened in 2027. Altogether, these will employ up to 3,000 workers.

• Sandals Resorts

Sandals Resorts has also announced expansion plans.

“What we’re saying to the world, therefore, is that Jamaica is not only a symbol of resilience and our tourism is not just a symbol of strength,” Minister Bartlett added.

“It is also a symbol of the confidence the world has in a small destination such as ours, even after experiencing arguably the worst weather event in the Northern Caribbean. After just a month, we can honestly and genuinely say to the world: we are open and ready for you.”

Guests already in the destination have also affirmed the quality of the experience. Chebo, a member of a 15-person family from Cameroon celebrating Thanksgiving at Grand Palladium, shared: “We love the resort. We’re enjoying it. We’re having a good time; the weather is fine. Jamaica is a welcoming country, the service has been good – everything has been good.”

Tourism Recovery Task Force

Chairman of the Tourism Recovery Task Force, John Byles, also lauded the pace and partnership behind the rebound.

Taking note of “the tourism product’s recovery,” he stressed that, “the most important thing I see, which always gives me confidence in our destination, is the coming together of government and private sector to pull all the pieces together. That is how we ensure a very quick recovery for Negril and for Jamaica.”

With Negril now on track to fully reopen on December 15, the Ministry of Tourism and its public bodies will continue to work closely with industry partners to safeguard jobs, strengthen community resilience, and ensure visitors enjoy safe, high-quality experiences throughout the winter tourist season and beyond.