On July 1, 2024, the powerful Category-4 Hurricane Beryl devastated almost all of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, two of the three islands that make up Grenada.
These islands were then forced to close for business in order to streamline clean-up efforts, assess the extent of the devastation, and provide assistance to thousands of Grenadians who lost their homes and livelihoods.
“The loss of life, destruction of property and displacement of livelihoods on those two islands is something that can’t be quantified in numbers. It’s going to be a long road to recovery for our sister islands, as we work to rebuild in the most sustainable way possible, but we are resilient people and are committed to showcasing the beauty of the Spice Isle to our visitors,” said Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell after witnessing the destruction.
Fortunately, Grenada’s main mainland (St. Patrick) suffered little damage and hotels were able to keep their doors open to both locals and international travelers.
Nevertheless, bookings from Grenada’s key source markets like the United States and Canada sank by 19 percent.
In a bid to keep the economy running, the government addressed the international traveling community to let them know that they were “open for business,” and it paid off.
In its latest statistical analysis, travel analytics firm ForwardKeys determined that this Caribbean island “has quickly bounced back to near-normal [tourism] levels.”
“The speed of the recovery is a highly encouraging sign of the resilience of the region’s tourism economy,” said Olivier Ponti, director of intelligence and marketing at ForwardKeys.
“While there was an immediate and severe hit to bookings, we are seeing a normalization to 2023 levels across the region, which bodes well for the remainder of the season.”
As of today, the largest growing sectors have been “business” (57 percent growth) and “visiting friends and family” (12 percent).
If you wish to contribute to speeding up the recovery of the affected islands, Grenada has decided to carry on with its famous Spicemas Carnival.
But this time around, all funds collected will be donated to the new Grenada’s Hurricane Relief Fund to rebuild homes and buildings.
This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to a humanitarian cause while enjoying a tropical vacation in the Caribbean.