Which Caribbean Islands Are Back in Business?

Caribbean destinations are racing to re-build their tourism business and infrastructure, with the most devastated destinations making incremental progress toward hosting travelers early in 2018.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Bahamas tourism minister, this week identified Anguilla, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands as the worst-hit islands.

Of the group, only Barbuda lacks a significant tourism sector.

Each has made strides in recent weeks to re-establish tourism activity said D’Aguilar. “Already, virtually all of the affected countries are reporting they are open again for business, although not at full capacity, with every one of them planning some sort of event either later this year or early next year.”

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Island Overview

Anguilla sustained significant storm damage and impact on resorts and tourist sites. However, the Anguilla Tourist Board recently launched a special landing page featuring updates on the island’s recovery, including updated information on the island’s resorts, villas, restaurants, utilities, services and relief efforts.

“We want to get the word out that Anguilla is open for business, and this site provides a wealth of information for those planning to visit Anguilla this winter,” stated Donna Banks, ATB’s chairperson.

“This beautiful island is coming back quite nicely and has seen the return of some tourists,” said Brenda O’Neale, Romance Travel Specialist at Pennsylvania-based With This Ring Destination Wedding and Honeymoon Travel Agency. “The opening of the St. Maarten airport has helped as well. These guests look forward to returning for the upcoming holidays as they understand that their support is critical during the high season.”

Progress has been slow in the British Virgin Islands as most impacted land facilities remain unavailable. However, the BVI Tourist Board, which is posting post-storm updates to its website, announced the territory’s critical yachting sector will begin welcoming visitors in November.

Meanwhile, commercial flights to the B.V.I. have resumed. Travelers can reach the territory via connections in San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua and St. Maarten. The territory has also launched a Facebook page to coordinate volunteer relief efforts.

“We remain energized and optimistic that the destination’s tourism industry will rebound,” said Sharon Flax-Brutus, B.V.I.’s director of tourism. “Guests of the BVI have come to expect a luxurious, personalized experience in terms of the islands’ natural beauty and our unparalleled hospitality. When they return, this product will only have gotten better.”

Dominica was just recovering from Tropical Storm Erika when category 5 Hurricane Maria struck in September, devastating the mountainous nation. Assessment of the country’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges and sites and attractions continues while relief efforts are being coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister through the Emergency Organizing Committee.

Access roads to nature-based tourist sites have been damaged and remain closed until repair work is complete. Thirty-five percent of reefs at dive sites were damaged, and all of Dominica’s nine dive operators remain closed with most not expected to re-open before January.

Still, LIAT Airlines and Seaborne have resumed commercial flights to Dominica, operating at limited capacity. According to the Discover Dominica Authority, 32 of the country’s 73 hotel or resort properties suffered moderate damage and are available to operate “now or in the near future.” Another 27 properties were severely damaged or destroyed.

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Back in Business

Despite highly publicized and ongoing island-wide struggles with electrical power and infrastructure, Puerto Rico’s tourism sector is remarkably in rebound mode. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is fully operational with scheduled domestic and international flights. San Juan harbor has resumed operations and more than 80 properties are open, with most taking new reservations.

Tourist sites including the Puerto Rico Museum of Art in Santurce, the Ponce Museum of Art and San Juan’s Bacardi facility are open. El Morro and other San Juan historic sites are expected to open during the coming weeks, said Puerto Rico Tourism Company officials.

In St. Maarten, Princess Juliana International Airport has opened to commercial flights. The island’s cruise port, (one of the Caribbean’s busiest), this week hosted its first ship. Rainforest Adventures will open St. Maarten Rockland Estate eco-park this month as well.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the local curfew has been lifted by Governor Kenneth E. Mapp, who also said the Territory will receive an estimated $800 million from the $4.9 billion approved for emergency operating loans for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico—part of the $36.5 billion supplemental disaster recovery spending bill approved by the U.S. Congress.

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Measuring the Impact

Figures provided by U.K.-based air travel data provider OAG outlined the damage the region suffered following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, D’Aguilar said.

Caribbean flights fell 6.7 percent in October, and seat capacity contracted by 4.1 percent. Flights to Puerto Rico decreased 25.1 percent, by 13.7 percent to Dominica, 12 percent to St. Maarten, 11.2 percent to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla by 6.3 percent to Anguilla and by 5.6 percent to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The hurricanes profoundly impacted what was shaping up as an exceptional year for Caribbean visitor arrivals.

“[Caribbean destinations] began the year growing at a healthy pace of 5.2 percent between January and June compared to the same period last year,” said D’Aguilar. “This was ahead of the growth rate of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent which had been our forecast.

“Air capacity in the region grew by five percent for the first nine months of 2017 when compared to the same period last year. Growth in the cruise sector also remained positive and stronger than the expected performance in the first half of the year.”

The positive early results were “a reflection of economic stability in the market, expansion and inauguration of flights by major carriers and new marketing and product development initiatives,” D’Aguilar said.

However, Irma and Maria have radically altered stakeholders’ expectations. “We have revised our forecast for 2017 to between one and two percent, with a similar growth rate projected for next year,” said D’Aguilar.

Still D’Aguilar and other sources expect a rebound: “You would have noticed that we predict growth in tourist arrivals this year, albeit slower than expected, which could still mean new record performance for the Caribbean despite the storms.

“This is mainly due to the fact that some 75 percent of the Caribbean was unscathed by the hurricanes and continued to welcome visitors.”