Plea for trade to support Caribbean islands hit by hurricane
Norwegian Cruise Line’s UK boss is urging the travel industry to continue to support the Caribbean following the devastating impact of the twin hurricanes, Irma and Maria.
Nick Wilkinson said the economic impact during the recovery period will be felt across the region. "It is truly saddening to see the terrible impact that hurricanes Irma and Maria have had on a number of the Eastern Caribbean’s top tourist destinations.
"It is our duty as an industry to show more support than ever to the region," he added.
Norwegian has created a partnership with All Hands Volunteers (hands.org) and Happy Hearts Fund (happyheartsfund.org) to create the Hope Starts Here hurricane relief fund, with a goal to raise $2.5 million. The cruise line has committed to match up to $1.25 million in donations to help rebuild schools and critical infrastructure in the Caribbean.
The impact of the hurricanes has been felt on several islands, including Norwegian’s ports of call Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and St Maarten.
"We are working with our partners on the ground on the affected islands to provide assistance to ensure these spectacular destinations are up and running and ready to welcome guests again very soon," added Wilkinson.
"The good news is that San Juan, Puerto Rico, will resume as a home port in the next few weeks and the Western Caribbean continues to be open to tourists as normal, being largely unaffected by the devastation of this autumn’s hurricanes. We must ensure that we continue to encourage tourists to these islands in order to provide vital economic relief to the Caribbean as a whole.
"We must pull together and show our support in any way that we can and by doing what we do best, booking holidays and driving tourism."
Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas will return to St Thomas on November 10, the cruise line having committed to undertake the complete restoration of Magens Bay, one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions.
Royal Caribbean has also committed to returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten by the end of November.
By December 1, all scheduled calls to the three islands will operate as planned, it said.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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