In the wake of Hurricane Melissa—one of the strongest Atlantic storms to make landfall—Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, is aiming to fully reopen tourism to the island by December 15. To deliver on that goal, Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism has activated a Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force and a companion Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee (with Tourism Cares) to synchronize public and private sector action.
“Recovery cannot be left to chance,” said Minister Bartlett. “We are aligning marketing, communications, infrastructure repairs, aid, logistics, and every enabling support behind a single objective: full industry operation by December 15. Progress will be tracked through the Ministry of Tourism with regular public updates, so workers, visitors and partners can plan with confidence.”
The Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force, according to the Jamaica Tourist Board, will “drive the operational restart of the sector, prioritizing rapid assessments, product rehabilitation, and service readiness across resorts, attractions, airports/ports, and key corridors.” The Tourism Resilience Coordination Committee, alternatively, will identify, coordinate and mobilize assistance—including cash, in-kind goods, skilled volunteers and technical expertise—and route it efficiently via supportjamaica.gov.jm for transparent processing and timely delivery to workers, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and communities that power the visitor economy.
Hotel Updates
Some hotels in Jamaica—like Half Moon, just east of Montego Bay—says it’s aiming to meet this December 15 deadline, adding “if we can reopen at an earlier date, we will.” Currently the team on-site is cleaning up and restoring the resort. Guests with reservations between now and December 15 are being contacted with the option to rebook within 12 months of the original travel dates.
S Hotel’s properties in Montego Bay and Kingston are both open. Guests, however, with reservations through November 8 can receive a full refund if they’re unable to travel. Guests traveling through November 15 can expect limited amenities and will receive compensation for such. Additionally, any guests traveling through November 15 can rebook their trip for any time between August 1, 2026, and December 4, 2026.
On the other end of the spectrum, Hyatt’s properties on the island—including 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, Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay and Zoëtry Montego Bay Jamaica—are not accepting new reservations through January 31, 2026. Currently, each of these hotels has “temporarily suspended operations.”
Sandals Resorts International, which operates eight hotels in Jamaica, says it has “begun comprehensive assessments of all resorts.” The company’s customer service team is reaching out to guests with upcoming travel plans (prioritizing those with travel within the next couple weeks).
