Above: the Riu Palace in Negril

By the Caribbean Journal staff

There will be an injection of more than $200 million USD in Jamaica’s tourism sector in 2013, according to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

The Prime Minister, who was speaking in a national address, said the investment would come through capital expenditure with projects including the Riu Palace hotel, the second phase of the Fiesta hotel and business hotels from Marriott and one from “Shanghai.” The PM did not specify on the latter project.

Fiesta is a Spanish chain that first announced its expansion push at its Grand Palladium resort on Jamaica’s northern coast. The expansion is adding 900 rooms.

Riu, also a Spanish company, will debut its overhauled Riu Palace Tropical Bay in Negril in December 2013 with more than 230 new rooms.

The Marriott project is a planned Courtyard by Marriott hotel slated to open in 2014.

Simpson Miller said there would also be an “increased thrust” into the Latin American and Russian tourism markets, echoing the call of Jamaican Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill.

Montego Bay recently received the first flight from Moscow via Russian carrier Transaero.