Jamaicans rush to ready island for busy tourism season in wake of Hurricane Melissa

Jamaica's peak tourism season is one month away, and officials in the hurricane-ravaged nation are rushing to rebuild from the catastrophic Category 5 storm that shredded the island's western region.

Before Hurricane Melissa hit on Oct. 28, the government expected Jamaica's tourism industry to grow by seven per cent this winter season and was preparing to welcome an estimated 4.3 million visitors.

Now, officials are scrambling to repair hotels and clear debris in the western half of the island in hopes of securing tourist dollars at a moment when they're needed the most.

"We are still doing our assessments, but most of the damage was in the northwest and southwest," said Christopher Jarrett, who leads the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.

He noted that the popular Negril area in Westmoreland was spared major damage.

Airports reopened

All international airports in Jamaica have reopened and are receiving commercial flights. But almost a week after one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record struck the western end of Jamaica, tourism officials were still trying to get a true picture of the damage to the sector — a mainstay of the island's economy.

Jarrett said the lobby group that represents private hotels and attractions on the island is still unable to reach many of its members, especially in the western parish of Hanover, as communication and electricity services were down.

"Every individual member who was affected is doing everything to get back up and running," he said.

In recent days, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said he expected Jamaica's tourism sector to be back to normal by Dec. 15, the start of the island's peak tourism season.

"It's doable for some and not for others," Jarrett said of the timeline, pointing out that the larger hotel chains would be able to recover quicker.

Despite the disruption to the important tourism sector, Jarrett said he doesn't expect the economic fallout to be significant. He said many hotels in the capital of Kingston and in the northern coastal town of Ocho Rios were gaining business from the influx of aid workers and volunteers in the hurricane's aftermath.

Tourism is Jamaica's main source of foreign exchange earnings, contributing a combined 30 per cent to GDP directly and indirectly. It employs an estimated 175,000 people and is a major economic driver for other sectors in the Jamaican economy, such as construction, banking and finance, utilities and agriculture.

WATCH | 'This crisis is more than what we can bear':

'We need every help we can get,' says resident in hurricane-hit Jamaica

10 hours ago|

Duration0:59

Aid has started trickling into Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the country last week, roaring ashore as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record. 'Every board structure gone, everything … even the concrete shops,' said one shopkeeper, as residents pleaded for help from abroad.

The disruption to the tourism sector also is affecting many providers of goods and services.

"With some of the hotels closed and most of the tourists gone, many of us are left without work. This storm didn't just destroy buildings; it shattered jobs and incomes for many of us and our families," said Patricia Mighten, who works in the western parish of Hanover as a hotel housekeeper.

Farmers, fishers also hit hard

While official damage assessments are still underway, experts said it's already clear that one of the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded also dealt a devastating blow to tens of thousands of Jamaican fishers and farmers who feed their families and nearby communities.

In Westmoreland parish, the westernmost area on the south island, Denver Thorpe lost six hectares of mango trees and two greenhouses on his farm.

"There's absolutely nothing," said Thorpe, a farmer and regional manager for the Jamaica Agricultural Society, a farmer advocacy organization.

The destruction comes just 15 months after Hurricane Beryl impacted more than 50,000 farmers and 11,000 fishers, and caused $4.73 billion Jamaican dollars (about $40 million Cdn) in losses, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

"We were just about turning the corner," said Thorpe.

Jamaica has more than 200,000 farmers tending livestock and growing bananas, melons, cocoa and much more.

The food produced is for domestic consumption and export — Jamaica is one of the world's largest yam exporters and its coffee growers generate $25 million US ($35 million Cdn) annually, according to the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association.