Shocking Number of Agents Still Believe the Caribbean Isn’t Open

Ovation Vacation's Jack Ezon said he is "shocked" by the number of clients who think the Caribbean is decimated because of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The truth is that most of the Caribbean is open for business. Affected islands are courting tourists to help their recovery efforts.

According to Karolin Troubetzkoy, past president of the Caribbean Tourism & Hotel Association, about 90 percent of hotel inventory in the Caribbean affected by the storms has reopened. Six destinations are still in recovery mode.

"There is a certain spirit of enthusiasm in the Caribbean," she said. "It's been really tough, but we are going to come back really strong from the experience."

According to Ezon, comparing this year's festive season (Dec. 22-Jan. 3) to what was on the books last August, travel to the Caribbean is 13 percent down. It's not terrible, Ezon said -- there is space for more travelers, "but it's not wide open."

January is down 18 percent, while February is up 2 percent and March is up 1 percent, thus far. April is 34 percent down so far.

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Ezon said he and his advisors are being proactive to get clients back to the Caribbean, calling those who have visited before and telling them they can return. Many are surprised, he said. He called on other advisors to do the same and help the region recover.

Advisor Carmen Teresa Targa of Condado Travel shared her story during the roundtable. Condado, based in Puerto Rico, is owned by Targa's parents.

The hurricanes last year weren't the first Targa has experienced. The first major hurricane she lived through was Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico was left with no power or communications. But Targa noticed a sense of community. She met neighbors, people who she didn't know before.

Condado has three branches in Puerto Rico. One, located where Maria made landfall, was a complete loss.

In the days after the storm, Targa and her family worked to reopen and help their clients. The normalcy of going to work helped them deal with the disaster they had experienced, she said.

In addition to helping clients, Condado helped staff members. Some had lost everything they own. The agency brought generators to the office and served meals at work.

Source: Travel Weekly