Jamaica will host World Travel Week from October 10-15, 2026, gathering tourism leaders, industry stakeholders, private sector representatives and academic institutions for a major international discussion on the future and resilience of travel. The event will take place at Princess Resorts in Negril, with Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett unveiling the initiative during the World Travel Awards in Dubai on September 13. Bartlett stated that the gathering would place Jamaica at the heart of the global conversation on how destinations can respond to disruption while building stronger and more sustainable tourism systems. The week will bring together industry awards, tourism focused events and discussions aimed at sharing experiences and solutions with partners from around the world.
Jamaica Positions Itself as a Global Tourism Resilience Hub
Minister Bartlett described World Travel Week as a chance for Jamaica to show its ability to lead international tourism discussions and share lessons drawn from its own experiences with major disruptions. He said the event would highlight how the country has responded to challenges affecting its tourism industry and turned those experiences into knowledge that can benefit destinations worldwide. Regional and international tourism partners, private sector stakeholders and academic institutions have been invited to take part, creating a broad platform for collaboration across different areas of the travel industry. The initiative is expected to unite organizations and professionals with experience in tourism development, crisis management, innovation and destination resilience.
Bartlett stressed that tourism resilience is not merely an international policy concept for Jamaica but something felt directly by people working throughout the industry. He pointed to hotel workers, tour operators and guesthouse owners who kept supporting the tourism sector through hurricanes, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic and climate related shocks. According to Bartlett, World Travel Week will offer an opportunity to document those experiences, exchange practical knowledge and develop solutions that can strengthen tourism in the years ahead. He also said Jamaica wants to show how disruption can become a source of innovation and preparedness rather than just a setback for destinations.
Tourism Resilience Awards to Recognize Industry Leaders
A major part of the initiative will be the introduction of the Tourism Resilience Awards, which will recognize individuals, businesses and communities in Jamaica and across the wider region that have shown exceptional resilience during periods of adversity. The awards will focus on responses to challenges including hurricanes, pandemics, economic disruptions and climate related shocks that can severely affect tourism dependent destinations. By recognizing successful responses, Jamaica aims to highlight practical examples that can be studied and adapted by other tourism markets. The initiative also forms part of a broader effort to place resilience at the center of international tourism planning and destination development.
Bartlett said the awards would help document successful practices and share them with destinations facing similar challenges. He emphasized that the lessons drawn from tourism workers and businesses offer valuable insights for the broader global industry, especially as destinations face growing climate-related and economic disruptions. The awards thus extend beyond honoring individual accomplishments, establishing a platform for knowledge sharing and fostering stronger cooperation throughout the tourism sector. Through this initiative, Jamaica aims to link local experiences with international conversations about the future of travel.
Negril Event to Showcase Jamaica’s Tourism Strength
Donovan White, Director of Tourism, stated that hosting World Travel Week would give Jamaica a chance to showcase its hospitality, tourism products and destination experiences to an international audience. He characterized Jamaica as one of the world’s recognized tourism destinations, noting that the event would let international visitors and industry representatives experience the country’s tourism offering firsthand. Selecting Negril as the host location places the gathering within one of Jamaica’s established tourism areas, while also offering a setting where international tourism stakeholders can connect. The event is likewise expected to boost Jamaica’s visibility in the global travel and hospitality industry.
World Travel Week will be held alongside a broad array of major tourism and travel awards, giving the gathering a larger international industry platform. The official program will feature the World Travel Awards, World MICE Awards, World Culinary Awards, World Social Media Awards, World Travel Tech Awards, World Cruise Awards, World Villa Awards, 10 Best Showcase and Global Tourism Resilience Awards. Collectively, the events will span major segments of the global tourism and hospitality industry, ranging from destinations and accommodation to meetings, culinary tourism, technology and cruise travel. This wide-ranging program is intended to unite different parts of the tourism industry during the week-long event.
World Travel Week Builds on Global Tourism Awards Platform
The World Travel Week initiative is being created as part of the broader World Travel Awards platform, founded in 1993 to recognize, reward and celebrate excellence across key sectors of the global travel, tourism and hospitality industries. Through the years, the World Travel Awards brand has built an international reputation as a benchmark for achievement in the travel sector. The 2026 program will take that platform beyond recognition by placing greater emphasis on tourism resilience, knowledge sharing and international cooperation. Jamaica’s hosting of the week thus connects the country’s destination promotion efforts with a wider global tourism agenda.
The event has likewise been framed as a means for Jamaica to show how its tourism industry has converted encounters with disruption into insights for future growth. By uniting governments, tourism enterprises, communities, academics and international partners, the organizers intend to promote the sharing of practical solutions instead of confining the discussion to policy alone. Combining the World Travel Awards and Tourism Resilience Awards is anticipated to lend the week both a recognition element and a broader industry development emphasis. As the global tourism sector keeps confronting climate, economic and other disruptions, Jamaica is presenting World Travel Week as a venue for cooperation, innovation and long term resilience.
