Jamaica has begun to bounce back from
its encounter with Hurricane Beryl.
For the
resilient Caribbean Island nation, it’s not its first rodeo.
Jamaica’s airports and cruise ports are or will re-open as of
Friday morning, July 5. They include Sangster International Airport
(SIA) in Montego Bay; Norman Manley International Airport
(NMIA) in Kingston; Ian Fleming International Airport (IFIA) in
Ocho Rios; and Jamaica’s cruise ports (Montego Bay, Ocho Rios,
Falmouth).
Most hotels and resorts and local businesses are open or are
scheduled to open today.
President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA),
Nicola Madden-Greig, said: “Jamaica was spared the worst of the hurricane and
we have now returned to regular business operations. We have no reports of any
guests being injured during the passage of the storm, and the majority of the
hotels and the tourism industry in general have emerged unscathed.”
However, she expressed concerns for the south coast of the island,
where many local communities were impacted, along with several independent
hotels and villa operations.
“We will be including these operators in our disaster relief
efforts, particularly in the Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth area,” she noted.
Visitors are still advised to contact their travel advisor and
airline and cruise lines, but the island is proceeding as if its business as
usual.
“Jamaica is open for business and, once again, the resilience of
the Jamaican people is on full display,” said Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism,
Edmund Bartlett. “We are grateful that there
has been no wide-scale impact to our general tourism infrastructure and our tourism industry is fully operational. Our message to our
partners and visitors is Jamaica is ready for you, so come back to the
destination you love.”
“We
are thankful to God for sparing us for the most part, and we are now resolved
to getting our industry back on track, while serving communities (especially
those in the Grenadines) who are in dire need at this time,” said Madden-Greig.
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