The festival expanded to include international tours in 1985 and was revived as a virtual event in 2020 by Tryone Wilson, Debbie Bissoon and Randy.
The Reggae Sunsplash festival was jointly conceived by five Jamaicans—Tony Johnson, Don Green, Ronnie Burke, John Wakeling, and Ed Barclay.
The festival's annual staging by its five founding partners helped establish a new summer tourist season in the region.
As attendance increased, so did the demand for accommodations, leading some attendees to adopt the practice of camping on local beaches during the festival.
While the festival had become hugely popular, opening new global tourist niche markets to Jamaica and attracting millions of dollars of foreign exchange into the country, it had not been a financial success, largely due to the lack of sponsorship or government support.
In 1995 the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board operating through a company called Radobar Holdings Ltd offered financial assistance in exchange for equity in Synergy Productions, the founders of Reggae Sunsplash.
[8] Performers included Tanya Stephens, Richie Spice, Capleton, Masicka, Dexta Dapps, Jesse Royal, Agent Sasco, and Romain Virgo.