Jamaica doubles down on Canada: record visits, more lift & bold new resorts

“Our relationship with the Canadian traveller has never been stronger,” said Montego Bay-based Donovan White, director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourism Board (JTB), from the top floor of Toronto’s W Hotel at Yonge and Bloor to a crowd of travel media, dignitaries like Kurt Davis, Consul General of Jamaica, and other special guests 

And the numbers are there to show it. Jamaica’s August numbers were up eight per cent for Canada, White said. Some 32,000 Canadians visited, versus 27,000 in 2024.

Despite the Air Canada strike, the island still achieved an impressive 90 per cent load factor across all flights during that time.

Winter capacity for 2026 is up 22 per cent over 2025 and a total of 365,000 seats will be flown compared to the past winter’s 293,000.

White gave glowing credit to the JTB’s partners at Sunwing, Transat, Caribbean Airlines and their newest partner, Flair (which will launch Toronto-Montego Bay flights this December) while also teasing a potential deal with Porter Airlines coming in 2026. Air Canada and WestJet also offer connectivity. 

Quebec City will be running routes between December and April thanks to a Sunwing and WestJet partnership.

“We’re extremely happy about this hard-worked negotiation that’s been two and a half years in the making,” said White. “We were insistent, resilient and persistent in ensuring that we make this happen, and we’re working our ‘you know what’s’ off to ensure that this is a success, so we keep the seats flying out of the city.”

Weekly flights out of Edmonton will return from November to April and Air Canada will open Ottawa and Halifax in December. 

Toronto, with its historic ties to the island, will be pushing out a barrage of 10 flights per week.

“There’s absolutely no reason not to sell Jamaica and fill those planes,” said White.

New developments

Many new developments are planned for the upcoming quarters.

In March 2026, Unico is planning to launch a 445-room hotel in Montego Bay, their first project in the English-speaking Caribbean, as well as plans to break ground for a 1,100 room Hard Rock Hotel on the same property. 

Next door will be soon be the site of the Caribbean’s tallest building, an 1,100 room Moon Palace resort, projected for 2027.

Others include a massive renovation to the Bahia Principe with an addition of 750 new rooms, and an additional hotel on the same property. 

The Royalton Chic in Runaway Bay was acquired and is currently under renovation and expansion, also projecting for a 2026 reopening.  

Secrets will be building a new hotel and Grand Palladium has broken ground for a 900-room expansion for their property.  

The Princess Hotel in Green Island, Hanover is building Jamaica’s first casino with plans to open in December and attract a whole new demographic. 

Footeprints received a total overhaul to position the property clearly into the luxury market, resetting the standard for Jamaican boutique hotels, particularly in Negril.

Virtuous ambitions

Jamaica joined the Virtuoso luxury network earlier this year, a move that should present new sales and marketing opportunities among high-net-worth clientele. 

While it’s too soon to release any details, Virtuoso’s plans “align with our luxury tourism strategy,” said White.

“It’s a segment of the market we don’t play enough in,” he said. “So far, it’s been very exciting as we rekindle some of the lost zest or drive we’ve traditionally put in the luxury space.  We’ve had some great meetings and experiences with their team and expect to immerse ourselves. Virtuoso will result in more even economic benefits.”

By the numbers, fall luxury hotel bookings are up 30 per cent, and winter bookings are up a similar 35 per cent with organic growth, he said.

Advice for advisors

“The advisor community has served Jamaica for well over 70 years, well before the existence of the JTB and they continue to serve them well,” stated White.  “We look for unique and innovative ways of engaging, rewarding and staying engaged with advisors.”

Key dates on advisor’s calendars with interests in Jamaica should be November for their end of the year awards and top 50 celebration.

“It’s a big time for the agent and we look forward to treating them.  Our teams are working hard to plan a world class experience,” he said.

Committed to Canada

Robust bookings are happening across the board for the Jamaican market but White’s attitude and respect for the Canadian audience still remains humble. 

“We compete with Europe, Asia, and Africa. Not just the Caribbean.  Overall bookings to Jamaica is pacing ahead by 11 per cent this winter, largely due to recent growth in Quebec City and the return of a Western Canada push, but we’re still at the edges and need to go further into those markets,” he said.

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