A massive new destination hotel complex by Karisma Hotels and Resorts has officially broken ground in Jamaica. 

The estimated $1 billion USD multi-hotel Sugarcane Bay Jamaica project is set on 226 acres in Llandovery in Jamaica’s “garden parish” of St Ann. 

The project will have approximately 4,700 hotel rooms, according to Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony this week. 

It’s a significant step for Jamaica and its growing pipeline of new hotels, one that is among the largest in the wider Caribbean region according to hotel benchmarking firm STR. 

“Significant investments have been made in the industry and these investments have been able to generate significant returns,” said Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “Investors know that investing in Jamaica is a profitable business.”

Bartlett said the new project was a “new chapter” in the tourism identity of St Ann. 

It also could create as many as 10,000 jobs, according to Jamaican officials.

“We are very excited about the partnership and I want to say to you that this is a very important moment that you are showing confidence in destination Jamaica,” Bartlett told the Karisma team. “It’s an important moment too, when you are saying to the world, given the current situation that we are facing, tourism is still the energizer of economic activities globally.”

The massive new project is part of Jamaica’s stated plan to add some 15,000 new hotel rooms to the destination’s stock over the next three to five years, according to Bartlett. 

Karisma is in the midst of its own growth push, with plans to debut a major new Caribbean resort in Cancun later this month in partnership with Margaritaville. 

Armando Chomat, the top sales officer at Karisma, said the hotel would become a “new landmark for luxury travel in Jamaica.”

“The dream of Sugarcane Bay is becoming a reality,” he said. 

For more, visit Karisma. 

— CJ