Martinique’s tourism industry remains intact following the passing of Hurricane Dean. The international airport - Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport - re-opened at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 18, while the island’s hotel infrastructure emerged virtually unscathed with only minor cosmetic damages reported to buildings.

Hotel landscaping was impacted more extensively, though none of the island’s 160 hotels and resorts will close due to the storm.

Mrs. Madeleine de Grandmaison, chairman of the Martinique Tourism Authority, reported that government authorities are working swiftly to clean up debris and re-open roads. She is pleased to announce that the island’s hotels are open for business and that Martinique is already welcoming new visitors.

“Those of us in the tourism sector are certainly counting our blessings today,” said Muriel Wiltord, Director USA & Latin America for the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA. “A few hotels reported minor flooding and there were several broken windows, but other than that the island’s tourism industry held up extremely well.”

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the eye of Hurricane Dean passed to the south of Martinique during the early morning hours of Friday, August 17. The hurricane was classified as a Category 2 storm at the time.
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