CARIBBEAN/USA. Travel sector infrastructure in the Caribbean has been badly damaged and in many cases devastated by Hurricane Irma, which is currently bearing down on Florida in the USA.
“It has become more likely that Irma will make landfall in southern Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and bring life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts to much of the state,” the National Hurricane Center said yesterday.
“Keep us in your prayers, this does not look good” – Florida-based Dufry Senior Vice President and Director – Human Resources Marcus Griffin
Irma, a rare Category 5 storm carrying winds nearing 180mph, has ripped through northeastern Caribbean islands, leaving devastation in its wake. At least 14 deaths have been reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands while Barbuda, where over 90% of buildings have been damaged, is reported to be barely habitable. The US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, St Barts and Anguilla have all been ravaged. Quoting a resident, the BBC said Anguilla looked as if it had been struck by a nuclear bomb.
The famous Princess Juliana International Airport on St. Maarten (the Dutch side of St. Martin) has suffered terrible damage.
Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Haiti have also been badly affected by high winds and rain, prompting fears of mudslides to follow. Encouragingly, the travel retail industry-funded Lycée Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable school in Saint Marc, Haiti (built to be hurricane-proof) has been unaffected by Irma , we can confirm.
“Following the Biblical flooding along the Gulf Coast of Texas last week, parts of the Americas are facing a monster category 5 storm that could impact many travel retail markets in the months to come” – Lois Pasternak, Travel Markets Insider
The loss of lives and catastrophic damage to infrastructure is bad enough but much of the Caribbean is also set for a prolonged downturn in the vital tourism industry. Now large chunks of southern USA are set to take the full brunt of a hurricane as terrifying as any in living memory.
“Keep us in your prayers, this does not look good, will try and keep you updated with events,” Miami-based Dufry Senior Vice President and Director – Human Resources Marcus Griffin told The Moodie Davitt Report last night.
Lois Pasternak, the Florida-based owner of Travel Markets Insider, which has an informal information-sharing partnership with The Moodie Davitt Report, last night published a gripping account of the damage incurred throughout the Caribbean. She wrote: “This week, 25 years after Miami suffered a direct hit from the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, South Florida—and the entire state—is frantically preparing for an even bigger and stronger storm that has already flattened parts of the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma—like Andrew before it – could have a serious impact on travel and the travel retail business in the region.
“Following the Biblical flooding along the Gulf Coast of Texas last week, parts of the Americas are facing a monster category 5 storm that could impact many travel retail markets in the months to come.
“Hurricane Irma… has decimated some of the key tourist islands in the Caribbean and is now barrelling directly towards South Florida, a logistics centre for the industry and home for some of the most important companies throughout the Americas.”
