Ivan skips most tourist areas

Saturday, 14 Sep, 2004 0

Grenada appeared to be hardest hit by hurricane Ivan, which is expected to reach US shores somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and eastern Louisiana on Wednesday.

One of the most powerful storms on record, Ivan caused at least 68 deaths but missed major tourist areas. The storm hit Cuba, with damages still being assessed, but bypassed the resort areas of Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

In Grenada, more than 90% of homes were damaged by flooding, surges and high winds, officials reported. Hurricane damages were still being assessed, but at least one resort, the 66-room Spice Island Beach Resort reported heavy damage.

Owners announced the property will be closed for one year so it can be rebuilt.

In Florida, three recent hurricanes that included Ivan caused disruption to residents and slowed tourism.

The hurricanes also impacted cruises. Port Canaveral closed for a few days but reopened earlier this week. Cruise lines such as Carnival substituted Miami and Fort Lauderdale when Canaveral closed.

Cruise lines altered their schedules to cope with hurricane Ivan. Seven or more ship itineraries were affected.

A scattering of hotels in Florida suffered mostly minor damage.

Lodgian Inc. one of the nation’s largest independent owners and operators of full-service hotels, said its five Florida properties experienced minor to significant hurricane damage.

The company said its 295-room Holiday Inn Melbourne, closed since 1 September, will reopen at an unspecified date.

Best Western said some of its properties in Florida were not accepting reservations because of damages. Some properties such as the Beach Resort Fort Myers Beach are not accepting reservations until next January.

Report by David Wilkening

below social share icons

David

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Destination British Columbia (Destination BC) is a Provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for BC’s...

We are the UK’s leading Canada travel experts Canadian Affair Company Information Founded in 1995, Canadian Affair offers an...

The State of Michigan is blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the nation’s longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like...

ECOMMPAY is an international payment service provider and direct bank card acquirer, engineering bespoke payment solutions for clients worldwide. Our...

Celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2022, Regent Seven Seas Cruises® offers guests An Unrivaled Experience® with every luxury included. Carrying...

Palladium Hotel Group is a renowned Spanish hotel chain that first emerged towards the end of the 1960s. Currently present...

Located in the heart of the Northeast and within easy driving distance of a third of the population of the...

Travel specialists founded the company in 1999 as AC Tours. Since then we have grown and expanded to incorporate four...

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

Holiday Extras is the UK market leader in airport parking, airport hotels, worldwide airport lounges, destination car hire, airport transfers...

If you’re thinking of cruising, there’s a very good chance you’re considering a Carnival cruise. Growing since our founding in...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...

We work with reliable data providers with global coverage, that guarantee data representativeness as well as compliance with International Personal...

Global Hotel Alliance brings together a unique collection of independent hospitality brands for GHA DISCOVERY, a multi-brand loyalty programme. GHA...

Why choose Titan Travel? There are some great travel companies out there – so why Titan? Well, we’re one of...

Blue Diamond Resorts consistently goes above and beyond guest expectations by delivering groundbreaking vacation experiences through our exceptional collection of...