After Maria and Irma: Caribbean tourism, island by island
By Stephanie Rosenbloom THE GETAWAY From New York Times
After two major hurricanes tore through the Caribbean in less than two weeks, some of the most idyllic — and tourism-dependent — destinations have been devastated.
Ferocious storms are nothing new to these islands, but Hurricanes Maria and Irma were some of the most powerful Atlantic basin storms ever recorded. Cities, and some islands, are almost entirely in ruins. Puerto Rico and St. Croix, two places that were in good enough shape after Irma to be relief hubs for their neighbors, were subsequently pummeled by Maria. In Puerto Rico, at least 10 people died. The storm brought catastrophic flooding, destroyed homes and infrastructure, and left people without power, clean water and essential services. In Dominica, at least 15 people were killed.
In the hardest-hit places, including Dominica, Puerto Rico, Barbuda, St. Martin and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a slow and arduous recovery lies ahead.
Tourism is the most important economic driver and the main foreign exchange earner for the region, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Some places — including St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Sint Eustatius and Martinique — emerged mostly unscathed. In the Guadeloupe Islands, there was no damage to infrastructure, though two people were killed.
“Within two to three days, things will be back to normal in the Islands of Guadeloupe,” Annick Girardin, the French Minister for the Overseas Department of France, said in a statement.
How badly the tourism industry will suffer is still being determined; in certain places the storm’s reverberations will likely be felt for years. On some islands, hotels have closed for repairs until next year and cruise lines are changing itineraries for at least the next few months. Royal Caribbean International said that future sailings will not stop at ports in Sint Maarten, St. Thomas or Key West until those islands have recovered. Norwegian Cruise Line said that all Norwegian Escapeeastern Caribbean sailings until November will be changed to a western Caribbean itinerary. Following Irma, the ships went from being floating playgrounds to rescue vessels.
The situation varies greatly from island to island, and is changing day by day. The Florida Keys, for instance, are not quite ready for tourism, though they are moving closer. Highway repairs have been made, and residents have returned to the islands. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, dodged Irma only to be undone by Maria.
Below, a look at how the islands are faring.
Puerto Rico
Days before Maria slammed the island, knocking out power and turning roads into rivers, Puerto Rico was open for business. Most hotels were in good shape. José Izquierdo, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the government agency in charge of tourism, said the island was focused on helping its less fortunate neighbors get food and medical assistance, and assisting in arranging travel back to the continental United States. “We’re in a position to help those in greater need,” he said.
Now, Puerto Rico is in need. On Thursday the island was declared afederal disaster zone. That evening it was estimated that some 3.4 million people — nearly the entire population — were without power. The energy grid was essentially destroyed, and hotels are shutdown and waiving cancellation fees.
The United States territory, which has been in a recession for more than a decade, has looked to tourism as something of a bright spot. In the last year, the island has seen record numbers of cruise ship visitors, as well as record hotel occupancy rates. But Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico is predicting a long period of recovery. Cruise ports are currently closed, but, according to the tourism authority, most airlines are aiming to resume operations at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport tomorrow (Sept. 23).
Antigua and Barbuda
This two-island nation, which has been struggling since 2009 amid the recession, depends heavily on tourism. Antigua was spared the worst of Irma. Its V.C. Bird International Airport has been open and most hotels (including Carlisle Bay, Cocos Hotel and Keyonna Beach Resort), restaurants and businesses were largely unscathed. Tour operators, bars and restaurants — including popular beach spots such asBeachLimerz, Coconut Grove, Sheer Rocks and Turners Beach — are welcoming visitors.
Barbuda, Antigua’s little sister 28 miles to the north, on the other hand, is in ruins. Gaston Browne, the prime minister, has said that 90 percent of the island’s properties were damaged or destroyed. Cell towers snapped. The Barbuda Codrington Airport is unable to accommodate flights. “It is absolutely heart-wrenching,” Mr. Browne said on CNN.
Barbuda’s hotels were also damaged, but because there were fewer than 100 rooms on the island, the overall effect on tourism is minimal, the Caribbean Tourism Organization said.
Barbuda’s population is much smaller than Antigua’s, though its unspoiled land made it an attractive getaway. The actor Robert De Niro and James Packer, the Australian businessman, were in the process of transforming the island’s former K Club Resort into the Paradise Found Nobu Resort when the hurricane struck.
“We are beyond saddened to learn of the devastation in Barbuda caused from Hurricane Irma and look forward to working with the Paradise Found Nobu Resort team, the Barbuda Council, GOAB and the entire Barbuda community to successfully rebuild what nature has taken away from us,” Mr. De Niro said in a statement to Deadline.com. He participated in a hurricane relief telethon broadcast on Sept. 12, and spoke this week in New York to United Nations officials and leaders from Caribbean countries at a meeting about Irma in advance of the U.N. General Assembly, The Associated Press reported.
