Jamaica’s efforts to recover from the effects of Hurricane Melissa were boosted last week by Sandals Resorts International Executive Chairman Adam Stewart who told a ballroom full of travel advisors at CruiseWorld in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last Thursday that the island will rise stronger from the setback.

Stewart urged the travel advisors in the room to keep selling Jamaica even in the hurricane’s aftermath.

“Tourism is the fastest transfer of wealth to these developing islands,” he said. “The single-best thing that we can do leaving this conference today is to continue to sell the Caribbean, and in particular Jamaica,” Stewart was reported as saying by Travel Weekly, regarded as the most influential news resource for the travel industry.

The publication reported Stewart, who is also executive chairman of the Jamaica Observer, as saying that the Sandals resorts that were hit hardest by Melissa will reopen “completely transformed to the next level”. Those three resorts — Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean, and Sandals South Coast — are scheduled for May 30, 2026 openings, while five others on the island that were less severely impacted will reopen December 6.

Stewart said he chose to attend the November 5-7 conference to personally and directly deliver a message of Jamaican resilience.

“My passport is a blue Jamaican passport,” Stewart said. “We love Jamaica. We love the Caribbean, and with your help, we will continue to make it bigger and better.”

Five Sandals resorts are in good enough shape to almost reopen, but the company is waiting a month to do so to ensure that its employees, particularly those on the south-western side of Jamaica, can recuperate from the storm, Stewart said.

Sandals has donated US$3 million so far to hurricane relief and has granted use of its corporate aeroplanes hangar for relief operations.

Additionally, Sandals Foundation has been making significant contributions to the relief effort, the most recent being the donation of $6 million worth of equipment and resources to help Bustamante Hospital for Children accept and care for critically ill neonates, babies, and children that are being transferred to Kingston from hospitals in parishes hit by the hurricane.

The suite of machines and supplies include neonatal ventilator, infusion pump, blood gas analyser, catheter, blood pressure machine, humidifier, nebuliser/suction machine, IV Pole, exam light, and more.

When the hurricane struck, Sandals kept customers there for free until it was safe for them to return home. Stewart chartered a plane for their return and brought it back to Jamaica with 150,000 pounds of relief materials, he said.

During the session, Gary Sadler, executive vice-president of sales and industry relations at Unique Vacations, joined Stewart on stage to give away free trips to the Caribbean.

“The best way to help us to recover in the Caribbean, just as Mr Stewart said, is to make sure that you sell more hotel rooms,” Travel Weekly quoted Sadler.

CruiseWorld brings the entire travel industry together for growth and evolution through educational workshops, general sessions, networking events, and a trademark exhibitor showcase. North American travel advisors attend seeking education, relationships, and new products for their eager customers. Supplier partners are able to establish new sales relationships and share product updates.