Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

Left: Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association. Right: John Byles, interim president of the National Cruise Council. - File photos

Dependent as Jamaica's tourism is on warm, inviting weather, Gustav's deadly force whipped up concerns that travel would have been a casualty of the storm.

But bookings remain largely intact, says the hotel sector's chief spokesman Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

There were few reports of damage and cancellation of bookings as a result of Gustav.

"There has been natural sand loss on the beaches, particularly in the west in Negril," said Cummings who runs a property in the Sandals chain in the resort town.

"But the hotels are open and they continue without any major impact."

Otherwise, Gustav only whipped up gardens and claimed tree limbs, he said.

"The hotels have been doing a good job of protecting bookings. No guests were penalised for arriving late," said Cummings.

Greater impact

The greater impact was felt by the airlines, including Air Jamaica, which cancelled flights Friday as the island's two international airports locked down operations, while cruise lines dropped scheduled calls at the country's ports.

John Byles, interim president of the newly formed National Cruise Council of Jamaica (NCCJ), said there were cancellations of ship calls in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.

"Montego Bay basically has one shipment that comes in every week and it has now been cancelled two weeks straight," said Byles.

The cancellation came from The Conquest, which brings about 2,950 visitors to Jamaica week.

Byles said the cancellations represent a 33 per cent fall-off in projected business for the month, as MoBay city usually gets six calls each month.

"We lost some ships in Ocho Rios the week of Gustav. They had two cancellations last week," said Byles.

Its unclear the numbers that disembark the ship, but Byles said each visitor usually spends an average of US$110.

The prospects for the rest of the year remains uncertain, given the continuing storm activity linked to other systems - three of which formed in the last two days.

Cruise ship season

The cruise ship season officially commences in October/November.

"The fact that we had a more active hurricane season has affected overall business - both the stay-over business as well as the cruise. We are finding it more difficulty despite the fact that it is out of season," said Byles.

"The fall has been greater since the hurricane season has been more active," he said. It's also been deadly, with 94 deaths linked to Gustav alone, including 10 in Jamaica.

Cummings believes that Jamaica's main market, the United States, where Gustav remained the major headline up to Tuesday, perceptions of the storm could dampen future travel plans.

" ... I think we may get a greater resistance in the market from what Gustav have become rather than what it use to be," said Cummings.

"Yes, we were the focus before but now we have a greater situation of what is currently now happening in the Gulf and we are going to have a lot more people paying attention to that because of how big a storm it became and the possible impact."

Gustav hit Louisiana at Category Two strength, causing at least seven deaths and early estimates of about US$10 billion in damage which was further upgraded to a Category Three hurricane, as it moved towards the Louisiana coast in the United States killed 10 people in Jamaica while others are missing and feared dead.

In Jamaica, Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry said damage to the road infrastructure alone was at least J$8 billion.

Cummings said market jitters could be overcome through promotions.

"We counteract with that positive message of concern, but at the same time (show) that we are open for business. We have every intention of continuing to do that," he said.

Jamaica receives 70 per cent of its tourists from the United States.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com