Overhaul coming to Jamaica’s tourism regulatory architecture

New Tourism Authority Act and establishment of Tourism Authority

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s tourism sector is set to undergo a radical restructuring with an overhaul of its regulatory architecture.

The institutional reforms that are coming is being executed under the Tourism 3.0 agenda, which Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, discloses will require the enactment of legislation to repeal and replace the Tourist Board Act, 1955 and the River Rafting Authority Act, 1970. This is being done to facilitate the creation of a new Tourism Authority Act and the establishment of the Tourism Authority. 

He announced a short while ago that a Tourism Authority will be created, emphasising that the move is “not about creating another layer of bureaucracy. It is about creating the institutional backbone required to govern a modern tourism economy. Tourism has outgrown the older administrative arrangements under which marketing, regulation, licensing, inspection, compliance, product development, destination assurance, and enforcement have evolved across different entities.”

Changes are needed 

Making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, Bartlett emphasises that changes are needed as the sector is now larger, more complex, more diversified, more exposed to global risk, and more central to national development. He tells parliament that the Ministry has already begun engagement with critical stakeholders across the tourism ecosystem and wider public sector.

“Those engagements are necessary because this reform will touch licensing, registration, compliance, inspection, standards, enforcement, product quality, destination assurance, investor confidence, operator support, and visitor protection,” Bartlett laments. The concept for the new tourism architecture is now before the Cabinet for approval, with the intention to have the policy developed and drafting instructions issued by the end of this financial year. 

Understanding Tourism 3.0

In explaining the concept of Tourism 3.0, Minister Bartlett says, “Tourism 3.0 is not a slogan. It is a new development architecture for Jamaica. It begins with a simple but powerful recognition: tourism is no longer only an industry of hotels, airports, cruise piers, beaches, attractions, and arrivals. Tourism is an economic activity. It is where agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, culture, entertainment, health, wellness, technology, education, transport, finance, security, and community enterprise meet the global visitor.”

Continuing, he declares, “The future we now pursue is not merely a larger tourism sector. It is a stronger Jamaican economy. That is the central proposition of Tourism 3.0: tourism must not merely grow in Jamaica. Tourism must grow in Jamaica.”

The Tourism Minister contends the future will not reward destinations that drift but will reward destinations that organise, “that is why Tourism 3.0 must now move from aspiration to execution. It must have a roadmap and measurable impact. Our roadmap rests on eight priorities.“