3 months ago
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In an update on the pipeline for new hotels, the Government of Jamaica, GOJ, disclosed in foreign market filings that there are US$2.5 billion worth of projects to be executed over the medium term, but at least of them might fall off the list.
The projects spanning years 2024 to 2028, include solid brands brands such as Sandals, Hardrock and Princess.
“Based on the information available, over the next five years, approximately nine hotels are projected to come on-stream, representing approximately 8,700 new rooms,” said the GOJ annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
At least one development, Princess, will include a casino resort.
The planned hotel roll-outs are on par with the expected spend announced a year earlier. It also towers above the pandemic-low estimate of US$1.4 billion that was projected from 2020 to 2025, a review of previous GOJ annual reports shows.
In the current filings, the properties and projected investments include: Amaterra Resort development at Stewart Castle, Trelawny – US$200 million; Palm Beach Villas – US$40 million; Hardrock Hotel & Casino – US$800 million; Princess Resort – US$500 million; Sandals Dunn’s River Golf Resort & Spa Phases 1 and 2 – US$280 million; Viva Wyndham – US$300 million; Secrets Resorts – US$210 million; RIU – US$100 million; Harmonisation – US$25 million; Villa Janus – US$16 million; and UNICO 18°77° Hotel Montego Bay, for which the expected spend was not stated.
All but three projects are to get under way by 2025, the exceptions being Amaterra, Hardrock and Harmonisation, for which no timelines were announced. The report also indicated that Amaterra is “no longer viable”, despite its inclusion in the tabulation.
The Harmony Cove casino resort project, in which the Jamaican government has a stake, was previously listed in reports at US$898 million for its phase one development. The latest report sees just three per cent of the original figure being slated for spending, but the first phase is still a 1,000-room project. The full buildout of all phases has a 5,000- room target.
Tourism remains a top foreign exchange earner for Jamaica. Tourist visits are estimated to have increased by one-quarter in the past decade, from 3.3 million in 2013 to 4.1 million in 2023. The tourism industry earned US$4.2 billion for the economy in 2023, bettering the previous year’s earnings by 17 per cent.
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