In the Wake of Hurricane Luis

Hurricane Luis, which killed at least a dozen people, left thousands homeless and caused billions of dollars in damage, also dealt a severe blow to the tourist industry that is the main source of income for many of the small islands in the Caribbean.

The islands of St. Martin/St. Maarten (pictured left), Antigua and Barbuda, and Anguilla are virtually closed to tourism until further notice, according to Michael Youngman, spokesman for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, a New York-based trade group. Lesser damage was sustained on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica and St. Barthelemy.

Damage from Luis, one of the most powerful storms to hit the Caribbean this century, totals hundreds of millions of dollars on each of the hardest-hit islands, and water and housing remain concerns. Miami-based cruise lines have rerouted ships away from regular stops in St. Martin and Antigua. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines will all use alternate ports in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Trinidad for the foreseeable future. “We will return when they have the infrastructure to handle it,” said Jim Lida, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean, which called on St. Martin and Antigua with its 2,300-passenger Monarch of the Seas.

Despite the widespread damage to some islands in the eastern Caribbean, Youngman said many hoteliers are reporting they will be ready for the traditional start of the winter tourist season in mid-November. The U.S. and British Virgin Islands, along with Puerto Rico, reported minimal damage from the storm.

On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Caribbean governments and hotel owners were putting together advertising campaigns, promising weekend paradise, despite the losses. Officials in St. Maarten went to the extreme of closing the border with St. Martin--the French side of the island--imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew and barring foreign reporters for generating “negative publicity.”