Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is pushing back against claims circulating internationally that Jamaicans are being shut out of their own beaches, arguing that the narrative is damaging Jamaica’s reputation and forcing the Government to spend money correcting what he considers a misleading picture of the island. Speaking at the 2026 Artisan Village Food Festival in Falmouth, Bartlett said Jamaica has about 70 public bathing beaches across the country, with only 10 requiring payment, while acknowledging that concerns surrounding individual beaches should be addressed rather than used to portray the entire island as inaccessible.
Bartlett said the issue has become a recurring challenge when he engages with the international media. According to the Tourism Minister, he has had to explain repeatedly that the claim that Jamaica is broadly preventing its people from enjoying the coastline is inaccurate. He said the Government has also had to work with advertising agents to counter the perception overseas, arguing that such efforts come at a cost to the country. “We have to help ourselves,” Bartlett said, urging Jamaicans to identify problems, address them and resolve them locally rather than allowing isolated disputes to define Jamaica internationally.
The Minister also took aim at what he described as a tendency among some Jamaicans to focus heavily on the country’s shortcomings. “Some of us enjoy beating up little Jamaica,” Bartlett said, warning that negative portrayals can ultimately hurt the very people who make them. He stressed that legitimate concerns about beach access should not be ignored, but argued that they should be dealt with individually rather than becoming a broader narrative about Jamaica. The remarks come as the country prepares to mark its 64th Independence anniversary and reflect a wider push to reshape how Jamaica presents itself to the world.
Bartlett said Jamaica’s international image is influenced significantly by how Jamaicans themselves describe the country, insisting that “the world sees us the way we see ourselves”. He called for a new, more positive national conversation as Jamaica continues its recovery from Hurricane Melissa, while invoking Louise Bennett-Coverley’s famous expression that Jamaicans are “little but tallawah”. Jamaica has approximately 1,022 kilometres of coastline, with about 300 kilometres consisting of sandy beaches, according to the figures cited in the minister’s remarks. As the debate over public beach access continues, Bartlett’s message is clear: problems should be confronted and solved, but Jamaica’s challenges should not become the only story the world hears.
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