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AT A GLANCE Caribbean update
l Islands not yet fully open and in need of relief support: Dominica, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands, Barbuda, Anguilla, St Martin, St John, St Thomas, St Croix and St Barts.
Punta Cana in the Dominican
Republic last Thursday after being hit by Hurricane Maria. Hotels in the country are open for business
Caribbean bookings drive to raise hurricane aid funds
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
A major booking campaign is poised to start on Sunday to aid the recovery of the Caribbean as efforts increase industry-wide to get the region back on its feet.
Operators and hoteliers are being urged to sign up to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s (CHTA) campaign to stimulate holiday sales to the Caribbean, following unprecedented devastation caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. The ‘One Caribbean Family’ campaign goes live on October 1. Operators and hotels must commit to a percentage or fixed donation per day’s stay to go to philanthropic body Tourism Cares’
and the CHTA’s Caribbean Tourism Recovery Fund. The campaign covers bookings from October 1 to November 30 for travel between now and December 19, 2018. Participating hotels and
operators will be listed on both
Caribbeantravelupdate.com, a site launched by the CHTA providing updates on hotels open for business and hurricane-hit destinations, as well as
Tourismcares.org/Caribbean. CHTA chief executive Frank
Comito said: “One Caribbean Family is a way for the travel industry to support recovery efforts while stimulating travel to the region. The worst thing people can do is cancel their bookings.” The campaign comes as
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), owner of Norwegian
4
travelweekly.co.uk 28 September 2017
“It’s a way to support recovery efforts, while stimulating travel to the region”
Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, sets a target of $2.5 million to help relief efforts in the Caribbean and Florida. It is matching up to $1.25 million of donations from passengers, staff, suppliers and partners. Oceania Cruises in the UK will
make a donation of £350 per booking on selected Caribbean sailings that carry a £350 saving. This applies to bookings of balcony accommodation and above. Frank Del Rio, president and
chief executive of NCLH, said: “We are heartbroken to see the
l Islands with hotels open for business: Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts, Saint Lucia, St Vincent, Suriname, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos.
l Information on the status of hotels can be found on
Carribbeantravelupdate.com. It features a map showing affected islands and relief fund details.
devastation that Irma and Maria have inflicted on the Florida Keys and several Caribbean islands.” Donations can also be made on Celebrity Cruises’ website. Some of the worst-affected islands include the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Barbuda and St Martin. Sandals and Beaches Resorts has said its properties in Antigua and Turks and Caicos will be “bigger and better than ever before” after recovering from damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma. Beaches Turks & Caicos resort is due to reopen on December 14 and Sandals Grande Antigua on December 17. More than 75% of hotels across
the Caribbean are now operational, according to the CHTA. The Florida Keys will reopen to visitors on Sunday.
PICTURE: RICARDO ROJAS/REUTERS
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