Grenada Emergency Relief Website

GRENADA TOURISM UPDATE
St. George’s, Grenada, October 12, 2004 - - On September 7, 2004, Grenada suffered a direct hit by Hurricane Ivan, resulting in severe damage. Hurricane Ivan claimed the lives of 39 Grenadians, damaged 90 percent of the homes, as well as public buildings and schools, and brought domestic power supplies, telecommunication systems and other infrastructure to a grinding halt. However, while far from being what they were prior to the storm, conditions continue to improve everyday as life slowly returns to normal. With the assistance of countries and donor agencies from around the world, Grenadians are committed to restoring the nation back to its former glory.
The following update reflects all confirmed information the Grenada Board of Tourism’s representatives have received regarding infrastructure, irlines, seaports, resort regions and hotel status:
Overall Assessment:
According to the most recent report issued by the National Emergency Relief Organization (NERO), water has been restored to 90% of the island. Electricity and telephone services have been restored to several areas in the parish of St. George, including the capital city, Grand Anse and Point Salines areas, and the parish of St. Andrew and surrounding areas. All the major roads in Grenada have been cleared of debris and are again open to traffic. Many banks, shops, marinas and gas stations are now open as well. Several private schools have reopened, while most others hope to open later this month. Security is firmly in place, as the dusk to dawn curfew that was in effect for St. George and St. Andrew parishes has been relaxed to 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. A National Clean-up Campaign has been initiated by the government, whereby on a weekly basis, teams are sent from village to village to assess and assist in clean-up efforts.
Airport/Airlines:
Point Salines International Airport is open for daily operations to both regional and international flights between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., until further notice. BWIA is offering flights from New York and Miami via its Trinidad hub while Air Jamaica has resumed all flights via its Montego Bay hub and its Tuesday, Friday and Sunday non-stop service from JFK/New York. Both LIAT and Caribbean Star are operating daily scheduled flights to Grenada.
Carriacou:
Grenada’s sister island sustained minimal damage and is in full operation and accepting tourists. All resorts, restaurants, attractions and tour operators are open for business. Carriacou is reachable with St Vincent Grenada Air (SVG), via Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Carriacou is also reachable via The Osprey, a motorized catamaran that departs daily from Grenada.
Cruise Sector:
The port is now operational and several cruise lines expect to begin calls sometime this month.
Dive Sector:
Because Hurricane Ivan did not create a big surge or high seas, Grenada's reefs and wrecks were undisturbed by the storm. Aquanauts Grenada dive shop in is in full operation at their True Blue Bay Resort location. The company’s dive shops at both Spice Island Beach Resort and the Grenada Grand Beach Resort will remain closed until further notice. Dive Grenada at the Flamboyant Hotel will be fully reopen for business by December. Eco Dive & Trek, at both the Coyaba Beach Resort and Allamanda Beach Resort, is currently closed until further notice, as is as is ScubaTech at the Calabash Hotel.
Carriacou diving was unaffected by the Hurricane and all tour operators including Carriacou Silver Diving, Lumbadive and Arawak Divers are in full operation.
Grenada Hotels:
Allamanda Beach Resort suffered some damage but is now open for business with several undamaged rooms available. Bel Air Plantation sustained very minimal damage and is fully operational and accepting guests. Blue Horizons Garden Resort expects to reopen within four months. Calabash Hotel will remain closed until October 30th. The resort had already been closed for the remodeling of the Pool Suites during the storm and suffered minimal damage. Coyaba Beach Resort sustained severe damage and will reopen in October of 2005. Flamboyant Hotel will reopen on December 20th with 36 rooms of the 61 units. Grenada Grand Beach Resort is open for business with many rooms. Laluna sustained minimal damage and will reopen on November 25th. LaSource sustained no major structural damage but is currently closed for visiting guests. Both the Mariposa Hotel and Monmot Hotel sustained minimal damages and are fully operational and accepting guests. Rex Grenadian will remain closed until further notice. Siesta Hotel sustained major damage and will be closed until further notice. Spice Island Beach Resort will be closed for one year. The resort lost approximately 90 percent of its roofs as well as the main facilities including its restaurants, lounge, spa and watersports. True Blue Bay Resort is open for business with several rooms and expects to be fully operational by December 1st.
Relief Efforts:
Every effort is being made to ensure that food supplies and other necessities reach all Grenadians. So far over 60,000 people have received food and tarpaulins. For information on how to contribute, please visit the "How to Help" section at www.grenadaemergency.com.
For more information on Grenada’s recovery and relief efforts, please visit www.grenadaemergency.com, the official website of the Grenada Embassy and Grenadian Consulates, in conjunction with the Grenada Board of Tourism's US Representatives.