Updated: October 28, 2026 Sources: Ministry of Tourism 2026-09-03 · Jamaica Tourist Board airlift outlook 2026-10-09 · Jamaica Observer 2026-10-28
Jamaica has welcomed 2.34 million visitors and earned US$2.5 billion in tourism revenue through August 31, 2026, with 70% of the island’s hotel rooms back in service and 30% still offline following Hurricane Melissa. Arrivals are down 17% year over year and revenue down 18% — but that is a sharp improvement on the first quarter, when stayover arrivals were running 27.5% behind. The gap has closed by more than ten points in five months.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett released the numbers on September 3, 2026. They are the clearest picture yet of where Jamaica’s recovery actually stands, and they explain something my clients have been asking me about all summer: why is Jamaica still expensive and hard to book if it is supposedly recovering?
The answer is in that 30%. Nearly a third of Jamaica’s hotel inventory is still out of service. Demand has come back faster than supply, and when that happens, rates stay firm and the good rooms go early.
Update, October 28, 2026 — one year after Hurricane Melissa: Jamaica’s tourism recovery now has a hard winter number. The Jamaica Tourist Board has 1,324,965 airline seats committed for January–April 2027 — 251,739 more than the same four months of 2026 (+23.5%) and 92.4% of pre-hurricane 2025 capacity (released October 9, 2026). Seats from Canada are up 62.1% and from the United States up 23.1%. The JTB expects about 90% of the island’s hotel room stock to be open for the winter season, with roughly 3,500 rooms still unavailable.
Montego Bay’s airport is still feeling it: Sangster International handled 957,700 passengers in July–September 2026, down 23% on the same quarter last year, and its operator told investors on its October 20 earnings call that it expects “almost 90%” of Jamaica’s original seat capacity back for winter (Jamaica Observer, October 28, 2026). The seven Hyatt-operated Rose Hall resorts listed below are still on an early-2027 timeline. The three closed Sandals resorts reopen November 18 (Sandals Jamaica South Coast) and December 18, 2026 (Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay and Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay).
The numbers, plainly
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total visitors | 2.34 million | Jan 1 – Aug 31, 2026 |
| Tourism earnings | US$2.5 billion | Jan 1 – Aug 31, 2026 |
| Arrivals vs. prior year | −17% | Year to date |
| Revenue vs. prior year | −18% | Year to date |
| Q1 stayover arrivals vs. prior year | −27.5% | Jan – Mar 2026 |
| Hotel rooms in service | 70% | As of Aug 31, 2026 |
| Hotel rooms still offline | 30% | As of Aug 31, 2026 |
What has actually reopened
Half Moon in Montego Bay is fully operational again after its restoration. Royalton Negril, the Hideaway at Royalton Negril and Grand Lido Negril all reopened on August 25, 2026. Royalton Blue Waters Montego Bay and the Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters are scheduled for September 15, 2026.
That is real inventory returning to the north coast in a matter of weeks, and it is the reason the arrivals gap has narrowed as fast as it has.
What has not — and this is the part that matters for winter
Seven Rose Hall–area resorts have been pushed to the first quarter of 2027:
- Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall
- Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall
- Secrets St. James Montego Bay
- Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay
- Breathless Montego Bay Resort & Spa
- Dreams Rose Hall Resort & Spa
- Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa
If you were planning a winter 2026–27 trip around any of those seven properties, they will not be open. That is a cluster of large adults-only and family all-inclusives concentrated in one stretch of the Montego Bay corridor, and pulling all of them out of winter inventory at once has an obvious knock-on effect on everything still standing nearby.
It also makes the December 1, 2026 opening of JOIA Rose Hall by Iberostar — 295 adults-only suites in the same corridor — considerably more significant than it looked when it was announced.
The airlift is holding — and the Jamaica tourism recovery now has a winter number
In September, Bartlett’s line was that Jamaica’s airline partners “are flying full on every occasion.” Seats have not been the constraint this year. Rooms have. On October 9, 2026, the Jamaica Tourist Board put the winter in figures:
| Measure | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Airline seats committed, Jan 1 – Apr 30, 2027 | 1,324,965 | +251,739 seats (+23.5%) vs. Jan–Apr 2026 |
| Share of pre-hurricane (2025) seat capacity | 92.4% | Jamaica Tourist Board, Oct 9, 2026 |
| Seats from Canada vs. winter 2026 | +62.1% | Above 2025 levels; Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Flair, new Porter flights |
| Seats from the United States vs. winter 2026 | +23.1% | Largest source market |
| Hotel rooms expected open for winter | ~90% | About 3,500 rooms still unavailable (JTB) |
| Sangster (MBJ) passengers, Jul 1 – Sep 30, 2026 | 957,700 | −23% vs. 2025 (Jamaica Observer, Oct 28, 2026) |
| Sangster (MBJ) passengers, Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2025 | 624,700 | −46% — the hurricane quarter |
What this means if you are booking Jamaica
Three practical takeaways from these figures:
- Book earlier than you normally would for winter. With about 3,500 rooms still projected to be out for winter 2026–27 and demand recovering, the useful room categories at the properties that are open will go before they usually do.
- Do not assume a rate drop. Constrained supply plus recovering demand is the exact condition under which resorts hold price. A soft-looking arrivals number does not mean a soft-looking rate sheet.
- Verify your specific property, not the island. “Jamaica is open” and “your resort is open” are different statements this year. The seven properties above are the current proof.
On the Sandals side specifically, the south coast timeline is unchanged and covered separately in our piece on how Sandals kept about 2,000 Jamaican team members on payroll through the rebuild.
Where this leaves you
Jamaica in winter 2026–27 is going to be a year where the difference between a good trip and a frustrating one is knowing which doors are actually open on your dates. That is an unglamorous, checkable thing, and it is exactly what an advisor is for.
Our team at Pixie Vacations books Jamaica at no planning fee — we will confirm your property is operating on your dates before you put money down, and price the alternatives if it is not. Send us your dates and we will check it for you.
Related reading
- Sandals Jamaica reopening 2026: the real dates and what’s new in the $200 million overhaul
- JOIA Rose Hall by Iberostar opens December 1 with 295 adults-only suites
- Pixie Honeymoons — Sandals and Beaches honeymoon planning
- Griz All Inclusive on YouTube — long-format walkthroughs of the Jamaica Sandals properties
Sources: Caribbean Journal — Jamaica tourism figures released by Minister Edmund Bartlett, September 3–4, 2026 (read September 8, 2026) · Jamaica Tourist Board — Jamaica Secures More Than 1.3 Million Seats for Winter 2027, October 9, 2026 · Jamaica Observer — GAP eyes winter turnaround, October 28, 2026. Winter airlift figures read October 28, 2026.
