The British Virgin Islands, Saint
Maarten, Puerto Rico, and other
islands were less fortunate,
suffering catastrophic damage
to homes, hotels and public
infrastructure and producing
many casualties. Just two weeks
later, Hurricane Maria, another
major storm, inflicted more
damage on Dominica, the US
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. As
it turns out, the 2017 hurricane
season, which included the
impacts of Hurricane Harvey,
was the costliest hurricane season
in history, causing an estimated
quarter of a trillion dollars in
damage.
Despite our near-miss with
these two hurricanes, it is clear today
how storms and natural disasters are
increasingly impacting the tourism
industry. The planet is changing
quickly and if we’re not prepared, it
can drastically impact our business.
COMPANIES, WE BELIEVE,
CAN BE DISRUPTIVE
AGENTS OF CHANGE,
BREAKING PARADIGMS
AND TRANSFORMING
INDUSTRIES.
Throughout our preparations for Irma
and Maria, our CEO Frank Rainieri,
emphasized the importance of getting
our resort up and running and open
for business as quickly as possible.
The best way to help the region and
the Dominican people recover from
the potential impact of the storm, he
reasoned, was by putting them back to
work quickly and generating income
for their families. He pressed us not
only to prepare for the worst, but to
plan to get back to normal as fast as
possible.
ILHA 19