The Jamaica Product Exchange, or JAPEX, returned to Ocho Rios for the first time in more than a decade, holding its 36th edition Sept. 14-17 at Moon Palace Jamaica under the theme “Jamaica Reimagined.” The event, presented by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), brought Jamaican suppliers together with international tour operators, airline partners and travel advisors to negotiate business for the coming winter season.
JAPEX: Success by the Numbers
Organizers reported 423 total delegates, including 86 buyer companies and 82 supplier companies, along with 57 local and international media representatives. A total of 1,394 meetings were held over the four days. The event kicked off with a celebratory festival at Island Village Jamaica shopping center with food stands, entertainment, and live music, and closed with a beachside extravaganza at Sandals Dunn’s River Falls.
The location carried added weight this year. Ocho Rios, on Jamaica’s north coast, was not directly affected by Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island’s western and southern parishes last October. In a live feed from the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on the first day, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett recounted how the storm caused an estimated 40 percent loss in GDP and affected more than 1.5 million people, then reminded the audience that hotel recovery islandwide currently stands at more than 70 percent of pre-storm capacity, with the remaining inventory expected to reopen by the end of this year and no later than the first quarter of 2027. “It is a marketplace of opportunity,” Bartlett told delegates. “Jamaica is open, and Jamaica is ready to welcome more tourism opportunities.”
Beyond hotel reconstruction, Bartlett outlined infrastructure plans including relocating portions of Black River further inland, a redesigned Montego Bay waterfront that includes a Freeport development, additional cruise ports and a planned airport in central Jamaica intended to function as an aerotropolis for both passenger and cargo traffic. Casino gaming is scheduled to open at Princess in the first quarter of 2027.
The government’s broader tourism strategy, referred to as Tourism 3.0, was a recurring theme among speakers. JHTA President O’Brian Heron said the industry’s success should be measured beyond visitor arrivals. “Our ambition should be to generate greater value from tourism: higher visitor spending, stronger linkages with Jamaican businesses, increased investment and more meaningful opportunities for our people,” Heron said.
Philip Rose, JTB deputy director of tourism for the Americas, said the strategy is intended to extend tourism’s economic benefit to workers outside the traditional resort sector, including “the corn soup vendor, the woman selling her handmade crafts outside, the bellman at the hotel and the farmer growing fruits and vegetables far removed from the traditional resort towns.”
Rose reported that Jamaica welcomed 2.3 million visitors and generated $2.5 billion in tourism revenue from January through August. He said more than 11,000 additional guestrooms are expected to come online between 2026 and 2027, including new inventory from Sandals, Hyatt, Secrets Resorts and Iberostar.
Officials framed the JAPEX gathering as part of a wider push to diversify Jamaica’s tourism offerings, emphasizing luxury positioning, gastronomy, wellness, adventure and community-based cultural tourism alongside the island’s established resort product.
The event included two panel discussions—”Luxury Travel and the Jamaica Proposition” and “Agentic Commerce: The Next Travel Shift”—as well as a Media Breakfast, partner presentations and updates and a buzzing trade show floor.
For more information, visit japex.org.
