by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Sat November 21, 2015
PHOTO: Wykeham McNeill, Jamaica's tourism minister. (Photo by Brian Major)
Jamaica's already flush resort inventory will gain another $200 million worth of new projects by the end of 2015, the country's tourism minister said this week.
Ocean by H10 Hotels, a Spanish and Canadian joint venture group, will build two five-star hotels in Jamaica's Trelawny parish beginning in 2016, said Wykeham McNeill, the country's tourism minister. The hotels will offer a combined 800 rooms and employ 1,000 local residents said McNeill. The properties will open by late 2018, he said.
The boom comes as Jamaica's resort districts continue to add new properties. "We are seeing a boom in the tourism sector now that is unprecedented," Mc Neill said at a press conference in the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) offices in Kingston.
"We are going to get new properties, we are creating linkages, so that Jamaicans, and Jamaican companies can benefit from the investments that are taking place," he added.
In October, Karisma Hotels & Resorts officials joined JTB executives to announce the company's plans spend $900 million on an eight-to 10-year project to build nine new Jamaican hotels representing more than 4,000 rooms. Karisma is already spending $45 million to build Azul Seven, a 149-room resort in Jamaica's Negril district.
The property will be adjacent to will be adjacent to Azul Sensatori, which opened last year. The hotels will feature several Karisma brands, with the first to debut in 2017-2018. In July, Palace Resorts completed a $80 million renovation of the former Sunset Grande in Ocho Rios, re-launching the property as the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande. The 700-room, all-inclusive property features five restaurants, six bars and lounges and a Flow Rider wave simulator among other amenities and facilities.
In all, Jamaica will gain 2,694 new hotel rooms by December, including accommodations at new properties and at recently expanded existing hotels and resorts. McNeill said the new and expanded properties represent a $500 million investment.
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