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Updates from the Caribbean as hurricanes persist

As Hurricane Maria continues to wind through the Caribbean, the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) reported on Thursday it was seeing broader consequences of Hurricanes Irma and Maria throughout the more than 70% of the region that suffered little or no damage. While many destinations are ‘open for business,’ they are reporting travel cancellations and a slowdown in bookings.

Travel disruptions and cancellations also occurred because of flight cancellations due to the closure of South Florida airports and the San Juan Caribbean hub.

The CHTA is reporting that in post-storm communications, it is becoming clear that a large percentage of visitors to the region and a significant number of travel professionals were not knowledgeable about the local geography, which is why CHTA created a map highlighting the affected areas.

Issues also arose from news anchors mispronouncing island names such as Barbuda, or wrongly referring to Barbuda as Bermuda or even Barbados. The United States sent out a post-storm travel warning, which included unaffected areas such as the Eastern Caribbean, but this was corrected after an intervention by the public and private sector representatives in St. Lucia. “There is an ongoing need to keep educating visitors and travel professionals alike and our members should use every opportunity to be ambassadors for the region and each engage with their network of family and friends to educate and encourage continued support for the Caribbean – both travel to the region and relief for the affected destinations,” the CHTA said in a statement.

CHTA has been working on several fronts to assist with the situation, focusing on:

  • Providing accurate facts and information
  • Assisting with immediate relief to the hardest hit destinations
  • Creating the Caribbean Tourism Recovery Fund by the global Tourism Cares organization and CHTA to address longer-term support needs
  • An aggressive media and public relations effort to counter misinformation, calling for relief, and assuring the public that most of the region is ‘open for business.’
  • Stimulating bookings through a OneCaribbeanFamily promotion initiative designed to also support the recovery fund while sending a powerful message of industry solidarity.

The marketing campaign is centered around the following:

  • Special rates/promotion (each hotel would have their own) for travel now through 2018
  • A booking window of eight weeks
  • Participating hotels agree to a dollar or percentage contribution per booking to support the recovery effort. It will reach out to tour operators to seek a matching donation

Updates on hotels and airports

In Puerto Rico, Luis Moñoz Marín Airport is ready to receive military and operations and airlines were supposed to start becoming operational on Friday.

In Dominica, there is severe flooding and heavy damage throughout. The hospital and community center reportedly lost their roofs. Windsor Park will be used as a landing site for helicopters.

The United States Virgin Islands is working to assess damage to the territory following the passage of Hurricane Maria. The eye of the Category 5 storm passed south of St. Croix on Wednesday, bringing with it hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding. The islands of St. John, St. Thomas and Water Island, which are still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Irma, endured tropical storm conditions. The Department of Tourism continues to encourage travelers to postpone trips to the islands at this time as it further evaluates the damage caused by the hurricanes and coordinates evacuation efforts. Communication throughout the Territory is limited, and the Department of Tourism is in the process of collecting information from tourism stakeholders

The eye of Hurricane Maria passed to the south of St. Kitts & Nevis with the center having been located 90 miles west-southwest of the islands. Rapid assessment teams are currently being deployed to determine the extent of disruption caused by the storm. All storm watches and warnings for St. Kitts & Nevis have been discontinued. Essential services are up and operating.

The Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort put out a statement saying it is assessing the storm’s impact and it has not received any reports of injuries at the property. The hotel will remain closed until further notice and is relaxing its cancellation policies so guests with future reservations may cancel or rebook for a later date without penalty.

A statement from Hilton said it is monitoring Hurricane Maria’s path and related storm warnings closely. It is still assessing the impact of the storm in Puerto Rico and is attending to guests and team members. All Hilton properties on the island are no longer taking new reservations through September 30. The Condado Plaza Hilton, El San Juan Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton and Embassy Suites by Hilton Dorado del Mar Beach Resort are closed.

Hilton properties in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas are waiving cancellation fees for travelers with reservations arriving September 19 through September 30.

Marriott International in a statement said it is continuing to closely monitor the path of Hurricane Maria and hotels in the current path of the storm have implemented storm preparation protocols. Hotels in the impacted area are waiving hotel cancellation and change fees but details will vary depending on the hotel.

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