tl;dr – People coming together to make the best of a bad situation.
Just about a month ago, Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, with top winds of 185 miles per hour. The storm caused significant damage to the Caribbean Island nation, destroying homes, businesses, injuring hundreds, and claiming at least 102 lives, with at least 30 other people reported as missing.
For Jamaica, tourism contributes over 30% of Jamaica’s GDP and is a significant source of employment and foreign exchange. It is the country’s largest source of foreign exchange, directly employing about 175,000 people and creating significant indirect employment. With damage estimates from the storm rising north of $10 billion, it’s encouraging (all things considered) to read reports of the country’s tourism industry fast-tracking recovery efforts, though it will be harder for some than others.
Another bit of uplifting news – seeing tourists themselves pitch in and help out. There’s a video of what appears to be a worker from either Hyatt’s Breathless Montego Bay Resort & Spa or (and?) Secrets St. James Montego Bay (the resorts are down the street from one another) doing a ‘roll call’, asking tourists where they are from as they go about picking up debris and trash left over from the storm.
Good stuff, folks.
