KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett said that based on the information collected by the Tourism Emergency Operations Centre (TEOC), Jamaica’s tourism sector has not experienced any major fallout from the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
“While there have been some reports of fallen trees, debris, flooding and power outages, we are grateful that there has been no wide-scale impact on our general tourism infrastructure,” said Minister Bartlett.
According to a release on Thursday, a limited number of tourists required relocation due to blocked roadways or as precautionary measures.
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of our TEOC team and tourism partners, visitors were safely relocated from one location to another,” Bartlett said.
“We are also aware of isolated reports of property damage. Post-hurricane impact assessments are now underway and are being led by the Tourism Product Development Company’s (TPDCo) product quality team, and we will have a clearer picture of the steps that will have to be taken to address any concerns in the coming days,” he added.
Bartlett went on to commend the different tourism stakeholders and members of the Tourism Ministry for their work in mitigating the impact of Hurricane Beryl, which he said will also facilitate a speedy recovery.
“Our resilience and collaboration in the face of adversity was again demonstrated over the last few days, and I am confident that the industry will recover rapidly and emerge even stronger,” Bartlett added.
The TEOC serves as the central hub for coordinating emergency response and recovery efforts within the tourism sector. Serving as the official source of information for the tourism industry, the TEOC is located at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and was officially activated on July 2.
