Jamaica's tourist resorts and ports could face a long recovery from hurricane

Hurricane Melissa hit much of Jamaica hard. The country’s all-important tourism industry will likely suffer, too, as damage assessments are made over the coming days.

While it’s too early to know the full impact of Melissa, Montego Bay was underwater on Wednesday and infrastructure was damaged. The city is the home to several resorts and golf courses.

Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the town of New Hope on the southwestern tip of Jamaica. By 8 p.m., it was heading to eastern Cuba.

As of Wednesday evening, Jamaica’s airports remained closed to visitors, including Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Ian Fleming International Airport near Ocho Rios and in the northeast of the country. Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who earlier in the day conducted an assessment of Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, later indicated that it had received its first flight, one carrying relief.

In a post on X, he also announced that the Kingston airport and Ian Fleming would both open at 7 a.m. Thursday for commercial flights. Montego Bay’s airport can begin receiving relief flights at 10 a.m., however Vaz said the resumption of commercial flights there has yet to be determined. Sections of one of that airport’s concourses had significant damage, he said in other postings.

Jamaica last year welcomed nearly 5 million tourists, and raked in $4.3 billion. While some visit the capital, many prefer the rural reaches of the country, areas that have been hard-hit by the storm.

“Tourism has been impacted negatively,” Dennis Zulu, the United Nations resident coordinator in Jamaica, who also covers the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos, told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday. “We’re obviously going to see reduced arrivals, because the facilities, the resorts that were accommodating tourists, have been affected.”

Assessments of Melissa’s destruction are just starting. But local reports show hotels flooded or severely damaged, which could have long-term effects. Meanwhile, significant portions of the country are without power, and roads are being blocked by downed power lines, fallen trees and storm debris.

With large swaths of the country affected by Melissa, Zulu said, it’s going to take time before those facilities are restored.

Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett launched new visitor targets for the country, visiting the United Kingdom and New York where he marketed the island. Now, the country can expect to see a reduction in tourism, Zulu said.

A foreign exchange earner for the country, the tourism industry was still bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the country’s tourism leaders are posting travel alerts on resorts, transportation and safety.

South Florida cruise lines affected

Cruise travel also has been affected by Melissa’s devastating winds and rains. Montego Bay and Ocho Rios have ports that are important stops for ships sailing from South Florida.

On Wednesday, Carnival Corp. said it was evaluating the impact of Melissa.

“It is too early to make any decisions,” the company said in a statement. “There needs to be an assessment of the ports, the waterways and the surrounding infrastructure.”

The Doral-based company said it will “coordinate with government officials at the appropriate time.”

Miami-based Royal Caribbean hadn’t made any decisions either for the same reasons.

Norwegian Cruise Line in Miami made two immediate changes. Norwegian Joy’s current voyage will no longer stop in Montego Bay, as planned, a spokesperson said. It will instead make an overnight call to Cozumel, Mexico. Norwegian Prima’s Nov. 2 voyage will also skip Montego Bay and instead go to Nassau.

Airports and flights

Vaz on Wednesday said he conducted an aerial tour of Norman Manley International Airport and a walk-through of that airport, and that “there is no significant damage.” He also said the Palisadoes strip that leads to the airport “shows no issues or damage.”

Even as Vaz announced the resumption of commercial flights, it’s unclear if they will be packed with tourists or people traveling back home to check on friends and relatives — or if they’ll be outnumbered by planes with aid.

Elizabeth Riley, the executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, said on Wednesday that she’s received indications that relief flights will be given priority once the main international airport in the capital reopens.

“We already have an indication that when the Norman Manley airport reopens, the priority that will be given is to humanitarian flights in the first instance and not commercial flights,” she said. “We are part of coordinating that with the government of Jamaica.”

On Wednesday, American Airlines continued to suspend flights in and out of Montego Bay, Kingston and Ian Fleming International Airport.

“We’re still awaiting results from the damage assessment at the airports,” an airline spokesperson told the Miami Herald. “We’ll resume service once it’s safe to do so.”

American on Wednesday also suspended flights to and from Holguin, Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Antonio Maceo Airport and Providenciales Airport, which serves the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Delta Air Lines suspended flights in and out of Montego Bay, Kingston and Turks and Caicos. “We will resume service as soon as safely possible.”

That could take some time for Jamaica, particularly for one of its major tourist destinations. The mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, said his airport had been “badly damaged.” In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, he said, “I foresee it being in a state of lockdown for a few days before we’re able to start moving people around.”

In a small piece of good news, he said the Montego Bay Convention Center, reserved as a hurricane shelter, only got three calls from tourists, all of whom ended up staying put in their accommodations.

The center “was not used, which tells me that the tourists were in good hands” at their hotels, the mayor said.

Still, Vernon indicated the amount of work that lies ahead.

“Major roadways have been inundated by floodwaters, we have no power, the utilities are damaged and telecommunications is down.”

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