SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Jamaica is racing to reopen its tourism industry after Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island last week. The Category 5 storm caused widespread damage at some of the country's most popular destinations. And with the start of peak tourism season just weeks away, will the island be open for business? Edmund Bartlett is Jamaica's minister of tourism and joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.
EDMUND BARTLETT: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: How bad was the damage to tourism spots by Hurricane Melissa?
BARTLETT: Well, the hurricane hit the western quadrant of the island. Overall, just about 60%, perhaps, of our tourism assets were affected by the hurricane. The extent to which the damages were done range from extreme in one instance - in only one instance - to moderate and in a much lighter way.
SIMON: May I ask about some areas specifically that are familiar to tourists, such as Montego Bay and Negril?
BARTLETT: Montego Bay was more severely hit than all the other destinations in Jamaica. Negril is in relatively good nick. Port Antonio is absolutely not touched. Kingston and some areas along the South Coast were in good nick.
SIMON: Minister Bartlett, how important is tourism to Jamaica's economy?
BARTLETT: Tourism is 30% of our GDP, but its implications are deeper and wider. In addition to knowing that tourism provides more than 55% of the foreign exchange that we generate, also employs 20% of the labor force in the country. So it's hugely important to the economy of Jamaica.
SIMON: What needs to be done to receive tourists in a few weeks?
BARTLETT: Right. So the good news all around is that our airports are working. We have established a timeline for the full opening of the destination for December 15. A number of our hotels are now open and are scheduling for opening. So by the time we get to the 15, more than 70%, 80% of all our room stock and attractions will be available.
SIMON: What's the biggest challenge you face right now?
BARTLETT: Oh, the biggest challenge we face is to get our workers back with their physical assets back intact - their houses - to ensure that they have water and light and all the amenities that will make them able to produce at the highest level. And that's a big, strong mission, and we're going after it with a lot of energy and resources.
SIMON: You sound very hopeful.
BARTLETT: Oh, yes, because we worked hard at it. We have a recovery task force that is working daily, minutely. The government has responded extremely well to enable the reconstruction activities. One of the things that we want to emphasize in all of this is resilience. We're not just building back. We're building back better, and we're building back with the knowledge of the technology that is required to deal with the elements of weather and climatic change that we're experiencing.
SIMON: Is there something you learned through this experience of Hurricane Melissa that you'll take into the future?
BARTLETT: Oh, yes. For one, we have to review where our settlements are. We have to manage better to ensure they're protected and safeguarded against flooding and erosion. We know, for example, that we have to look at resilience in energy and particularly the distribution of energy. We're looking at entombing the cables underground for light and power distribution, so we remove all those light poles that are now susceptible to the effect of the winds that come with these weather conditions. We also have to look at even our building codes, with the knowledge of the type of hurricanes that are likely to be a feature of the future.
SIMON: Edmund Bartlett is Jamaica's minister of tourism. Thanks so much for being with us. Good season ahead to you, sir.
BARTLETT: Thank you, Scott. And I want to close by just saying to the audience and everybody, I know that you all feel the pain with us and you empathize. The greatest way for you to continue to show love and support for us is to visit us.
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