Hurricane Melissa shakes Caribbean tourism

Hurricane Melissa shakes Caribbean tourism

29-10-25

The devastating passage of Hurricane Melissa has thrown the Caribbean’s tourism industry into disarray, with severe impacts on key destinations such as Jamaica, Cuba, and other islands across the region. As the system strengthened to Category 5—one of the most powerful to strike the Atlantic in recent memory—the consequences for the tourism sector are coming into alarming focus.

In Jamaica, Melissa made landfall with winds reaching up to 185 mph (about 295 km/h), making it the strongest storm recorded on the island since reliable data began. The impact on infrastructure, connectivity, and bookings was immediate: flights were suspended, cruise ships rerouted, evacuations ordered, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power. Coastal hotels, beach communities, and resorts in vulnerable zones were evacuated or suffered serious damage, posing a daunting outlook for the sun-and-sand tourism that is a pillar of Jamaica’s economy.

Meanwhile in Cuba, authorities have already evacuated more than 735,000 people in eastern provinces in anticipation of the hurricane’s arrival and the threat of torrential rain (up to 25 inches in mountainous areas), storm surges of up to 4 meters, and landslides. Although the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, the impact on tourism in coastal regions is inevitable: closed access routes, suspended services, canceled or postponed trips, and an atmosphere of uncertainty that discourages new reservations.

This convergence of hazards delivers a double blow to the sector: direct destruction of infrastructure—such as hotels, piers, airports, roads, and essential services—and reputational damage as thousands of travelers decide to cancel or redirect plans to less risky destinations. Early reports indicate that the hurricane has already paralyzed flights, diverted cruise itineraries, and forced evacuations of resorts across the Caribbean.

For Jamaica and Cuba—especially for smaller islands that lack the buffering capacity of larger destinations—the challenge is twofold: restore tourism operations as quickly as possible, since they support income, employment, and value chains; and at the same time communicate transparently about real conditions to rebuild visitor confidence. In Jamaica, for example, estimates suggest that more than 50% of households lost electricity, underscoring the scale of the disruption to essential services.

Tourism impacts can create multiplier effects: a drop in arrivals, interruption of peak seasons, lower hotel occupancy, cancellation of excursions and tours, and steep costs to replace or rebuild coastal facilities. In addition, the perception of heightened hurricane risk may shift demand to other destinations or drive a stronger preference for travel insurance and resilience-focused accommodations.

At a regional level, the fact that a hurricane of this magnitude hits several Caribbean tourism markets simultaneously (Jamaica, Cuba, and other islands under alert) increases the vulnerability of the Caribbean as an integrated destination. Cross-institutional coordination for recovery, a review of evacuation protocols, and reinforcement of climate-resilient infrastructure emerge as urgent priorities. Experts point to the storm’s rapid intensification over warm Caribbean waters and warn that climate change is exacerbating the tourism industry’s exposure.

For tour operators, airlines, hotel chains, and travel agencies with a presence or interests in the region, the Melissa crisis poses at least three immediate challenges: assess the real damage to operating assets; craft communications strategies that reassure travelers and calibrate booking portfolios in the face of cancellations or diversions; and plan medium-term recovery by upgrading infrastructure and services to better withstand high-intensity events.

Hurricane Melissa leaves not only a trail of physical destruction, but also a deep impact on confidence and the tourism economy across the Caribbean. The speed of the response, the quality of reconstruction, and the ability of destinations to convey safety will be decisive in reversing the setback. The coming months will be critical to see how Jamaica, Cuba, and other islands restore their offerings—and how the regional tourism sector adapts to a landscape in which climate variability is becoming a structural condition.

Report abuse