The Ministry of Tourism is sending out a message to the world that The Bahamas is once again opened for business.
Last Friday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave the “all clear” after Hurricane Matthew devastated islands in the northwest and central Bahamas.
“We are welcoming visitors to many of our beautiful islands with open arms and are happy to report that the storm did not discourage travelers from taking their Bahamas vacations as planned,” Director General in the Ministry of Tourism Joy Jibrilu said.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, it was business as usual for hotels, resorts, dive operators and tours throughout much of the Islands of The Bahamas.
While New Providence was greatly impacted by Hurricane Matthew, many of the resorts that remained open during the storm reported to have minimal damage to their properties, including Atlantis Paradise Island, Superclubs Breezes, the British Colonial Hilton and Melia Nassau Beach Resort.
The popular tourist attraction Blue Lagoon Island opened for business on Monday and welcomed guests to the island.
Sea Lion and Stingray Encounters, along with Segway Safari resumed operations yesterday.
Tourism representatives also conducted assessments of the tourism product throughout the Islands of The Bahamas where minimal damage to resorts, tourist attractions and properties on islands such as Exuma, Eleuthera, San Salvador, Abaco and Long Island were reported.
With Grand Bahama and Andros being the hardest hit during Hurricane Matthew, recovery efforts have only just begun with a full report on the extent of the damage to the tourism industry expected to be released by this week.
“We know that this storm has been devastating for Grand Bahama and North Andros and our thoughts, prayers and good wishes go out to the people of those affected areas.
“As the country begins to settle back into normalcy, we will stand and assist with rebuilding exercises on the areas that are affected,” Mrs. Jibrilu said.
Airports in the country resumed operations on Saturday, welcoming thousands of visitors while the Port of Nassau resumed its operations on Sunday as cruise ships passengers enjoyed beaches and shopping in downtown Nassau.
Many of the major cruise lines returned to shores as Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, received passengers from its ship Disney Dream yesterday.
Royal Caribbean’s private island CoCo Cay will welcome its passengers back October 15th.
The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has collated information as well and also reported that properties throughout the Islands of The Bahamas had relatively minor damage.
“Most hotels in The Bahamas are open for business. Some hotels, which are closed at this time to conduct regularly scheduled maintenance, are taking advantage of this period to repair any damage incurred during the hurricane,” the BHTA said.
The Ministry of Tourism encourages persons who would like to donate or assist in relief effort to contact NEMA or The Bahamas Red Cross.
