At a Glance
- Only two of the country's 700 islands were affected by Dorian.
- The island's economy is based on tourism.
- The tourism industry is vital to rebuilding efforts, a tourism official says.
While Abaco and Grand Bahama were decimated by Hurricane Dorian, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism says the rest of the Caribbean nation's islands are open for business and tourist dollars are critical to fund recovery on the islands hit by the storm.
“The best way you can assist the Bahamas in terms of the rebuilding efforts that are going to be necessary is to come and visit,” Ellison "Tommy" Thompson, deputy director of the country's Ministry of Tourism, told weather.com in a phone interview Friday.
Tourists spend $2 billion in the Bahamas each year, Thompson said. The bulk of that is in Nassau and on Paradise Island, which were left unscathed.
(MORE: The Latest Forecasat for Hurricane Dorian)
Those islands, and the rest of the Bahamas, are "completely open and totally unaffected by the storm,” Thompson said.
The Bahamas includes 700 islands and stretches more than 750 miles. Abaco and Grand Bahama are tourist destinations, but not nearly as much as Nassau and Paradise Island, where some 2.6 million people visited in the first half of this year.
Nassau and Freeport, the main city on Grand Bahama, are about 130 miles apart. That may seem close, but Dorian was a relatively small storm in size, despite its fury.
Other islands popular with tourists include Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Andros, the Exumas, Cat Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island, Acklins/Crooked Island, Ragged Island, Mayaguana and Inagua.
Several hotels in Nassau and Paradise Island contacted by weather.com said they are welcoming tourists and conducting business as usual, although they have had some cancellations.
Cruise ships have nearly returned to normal schedules in all areas not affected by Dorian. Six vessels were in port at Nassau Friday morning, five were expected on Saturday and four on Sunday, Thompson said.
Cruise ships have also been delivering supplies to aid in the relief effort.
Airports on all islands except Abaco and Grand Bahama remain open, including Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau.
Danielle Skinner, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, leaves today for a three-day cruise from Miami to CocoCay and Nassau. She planned the trip with credits earned after a cruise she booked to Bermuda last year was diverted by Hurricane Florence.
Skinner said Royal Caribbean sent a message to passengers on this weekend's cruise letting them know the ship would stop at Grand Bahama to deliver supplies and pick up evacuees in need of medical attention.
"I felt a certain level of guilt going on a luxurious vacation in a place that was ravaged by the hurricane and people lost homes," Skinner said. "I felt better knowing that the cruiseline was helping with these efforts in a small way and using their platform to help transport people and bring much needed supplies.
Hurricane Dorian sat over Abaco and Grand Bahama for days, bringing winds up to 185 mph and deadly storm surge. International relief efforts there have begun, and Thompson said those areas will be rebuilt.
“It was unprecedented in terms of the fury,” he said of the storm. “Of course our hearts and prayers and financial resources and goodwill go out to those people because this has never happened in our country before.
“Bahamians are very resilient people and once we get over this initial shock, I guess is the best word, we will put our minds to rebuilding bigger and better. We just need to get through this initial phase.”
