Westmoreland

Westmoreland is a western Jamaican parish on the Caribbean coast, best known for Negril's Seven Mile Beach, the West End cliffs and the market town of Savanna-la-Mar. Its blend of resort coastline, fishing villages and a rural sugar-growing interior gives it a more laid-back character than the island's busier northern resorts. The parish's history runs through sugar estates, slavery and post-emancipation settlement, reflected in Savanna-la-Mar's Georgian-era buildings and the 1894 Negril Lighthouse. Founded around 1730, Savanna-la-Mar remains the capital and administrative centre, while Westmoreland was also the birthplace of reggae musician Peter Tosh in Belmont. Negril anchors tourism with Seven Mile Beach, cliffside hotels and sunset venues such as Rick's Café, where divers leap from the limestone cliffs. Inland, visitors explore Mayfield Falls, Roaring River Park, the Royal Palm Reserve and the Dolphin Head Mountains, while quieter coastal communities such as Bluefields and Whitehouse offer beaches, fishing culture and large resorts. The economy mixes tourism with agriculture and fishing. Sugarcane, bananas, livestock and tree crops are grown across the parish, and Negril supplies most of its hotel rooms and tourism employment. Business travel centres on resort meetings, retreats and tourism-related trade, with Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay as the main gateway. For travellers, Westmoreland pairs easy beach holidays with local culture, food and nature. Leisure visitors come for sand, sunsets and water sports, while business and group travellers find resorts, event venues and transfers linking Negril, Savanna-la-Mar and the wider western coast.