The British-Jamaican chef – who won over Masterchef judges this year with her dishes of fried snapper with escabeche pickles and ginger rum cake with coconut and Chantilly cream – is set to partner with the tourist board to promote the destination to consumers and the trade through its cuisine.

Torrance Lewis, the tourist board's acting regional director for the UK and Europe, said agents should look out for news of some “exclusive” agent events with Gibson in 2027.

“In 2025 we ran some very successful gastronomy-focussed events with rum, chocolate and Jamaican cuisine, giving agents a chance to really touch, taste and feel Jamaica, but next year we will take that to the next level with Jhane as our new culinary ambassador,” he explained.

Next year is set to be a strong one for the destination, with increased frequencies for the summer season by both British Airways (Gatwick-Kingston) and Virgin Atlantic (Heathrow-Montego Bay) offering a total of 26,000 additional seats versus summer 2026 - and the highest summer capacity on record.

'Thanks for standing by us'

Lewis confirmed that by the end of 2026, 80% of the island’s room inventory will be back in play following extensive renovation work in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, and the remaining hotels reopening by the end of June 2027.

Montego Bay in particular has been “transformed”, Lewis said, with several Hyatt Inclusive Collection hotels undertaking dramatic renovations, and with the addition of Unico Montego Bay – the first Unico hotel outside Mexico.

“We want all travel agents to know that Jamaica is fully open – we have incredible new properties, incredible reimagined properties, and even more airlift,” he added.

He also thanked trade partners for their support during the island’s recovery. “The airlines stood by us throughout the whole recovery phase, and to see UK arrivals down by only 3.8% this year is remarkable considering how much inventory has been off sale.”