Hurricane Dorian is the strongest storm ever to hit the Bahamas, and the country will struggle to get its tourism-based economy back on track for quite some time.
The magnitude of the storm’s destruction in the Bahamas is coming into view. Parts of the island nation are in ruins. Much of Grand Bahama Island is underwater.
The Abacos and Grand Bahama Islands have roughly 2,250 hotel rooms, which amounts to less than 15% of the hotel inventory in the country.
That’s fewer than the roughly 11,000 rooms on the island Nassau, where mega-resorts such as Baha Mar and Atlantis are located.
Bahamas is the most tourism-dependent economy in the Caribbean and tourism accounts for 60% of the Bahamas’ $9 billion economy.
A recent UBS report estimates that Dorian will cost between $15 billion and $25 billion in damage, including the United States.
The Abaco’s and Grand Bahama Island will be “offline for awhile.” The damage caused by Dorian is “unprecedented and extensive,” according to Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.
Many homes and businesses are destroyed or heavily damaged and parts of Grand Bahama Island is underwater.
It’s going to take “one or two seasons” before it’s back to normal. The airports on Grand Bahama and Marsh Harbour, Abaco are currently closed.
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation Director General Joy Jibrilu said in a release that she’s “grateful that the majority of our 700 islands and cays have been unaffected.”
CNN / ABC Flash Point News 2019.
