CORAL SPRING, Trelawny — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says while the North American market has slipped, Jamaica’s rapidly growing South American tourism market, which recorded significant gains before Hurricane Melissa, continues to surge and has now surpassed pre-storm airlift levels, reinforcing confidence in the destination’s recovery.

“South America was strong before Melissa; we had a 77 percentage increase coming from South America, and that level of activity has not abated,” Bartlett noted.

He was giving a sector update at the Ocean Coral Spring Hotel following a tour of attractions in Falmouth, Trelawny on Sunday.

The minister also pointed to good news from Europe.

“Europe has been strong; the UK, that market remains powerful and strong,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that some pivoting has been taking place in North America.

“Where we have had the adjustments have been in the US and, to a lesser extent, in Canada. But they are coming back, and they will continue to bounce back as the inventory, the room stock increases in 2026,” a confident Bartlett assured.

The tourism minister also revealed that Copa Airlines has increased its weekly flights to the island, beyond what existed prior to the hurricane.

“Our air seats have been adequate in line with the capacity that we have. Just yesterday, we got word from Copa that they are increasing their flights to Jamaica. They are now going to be giving 10 flights per week to Montego Bay, in addition to the five that they have in Kingston, so that’s 15 flights like Copa out of South America,” Bartlett said Sunday.

The tourism minister explained that the latest increase means Jamaica is now receiving two more Copa flights than it did before Hurricane Melissa.

“I think we had eight [Copa] flights out to Montego Bay and the same five for Kingston. So we have two additional flights. So that’s a statement of confidence that the destination is back, because more and more people want to come from different markets; that’s a South American market,” he said.

He stressed that the continued expansion of airlift from the region demonstrates that the momentum built before the storm has been sustained.

With the arrival of approximately 300,000 visitors within a short period since Hurricane Melissa, Bartlett said Jamaica is positioned for a strong rebound.

“Jamaica is poised for a V- shaped recovery for tourists,” he said.

He also noted that attractions across the island, “from the Morant Point along the northern coastal area”, are operational.

Meanwhile, General Manager of Ocean Coral Spring and Ocean Eden Bay, Rudy Richardson, said the property has remained resilient and operational throughout the challenges brought by Hurricane Melissa.

Richardson reported strong demand for rooms as the destination rebounds.

“The numbers are looking good. Actually, we get a lot of pressure from sales to increase the amount of rooms available. Right now we are aiming to 85 per cent of our inventory, and sales is not happy with that. They want me to go as close as possible to the 100 per cent; and I’m talking about having more than 800 rooms ready right now,” he said.

“Our inventory is 954 rooms. I promise sales to have 85 per cent of the full inventory, meaning 800 plus rooms,” Richardson added, noting that final works are still being completed.

“The bulk of the work it’s done already. So we just fine tuning. And of course, if we open a room, the room has to be in a way that speaks about our readiness,” he said.

Richardson also underscored the commitment of the hotel’s 1,250 employees following the hurricane.

“We never closed the hotel. We kept all our staff,” he said.