Hotel reopens three months after passage of hurricane

Three months following the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl when it swept through the southern Grenadines, the Canouan Group has announced the reopening of its resort properties.
Earlier this month, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government said Hurricane Beryl which struck the island on July 1 this year, left EC$800 million(one EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in damage.

Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves, speaking on a radio programme, told listeners that the climate change conversation includes loss and damage.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) had suffered substantial losses and damage as a result of the hurricane. It said while a comprehensive and detailed damage assessment is ongoing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines “initial reports indicate substantial losses and damage in the order of 20 per cent to 25 per cent of GDP, and it is mainly in the southern Grenadines.

In a statement, the Group said that Soho Beach House Canouan and Canouan Estate Resort & Villas reopened on October 10 while Mandarin Oriental Canouan is set to resume operations in mid-November 2024.
It said that the reopening of its properties underscores “a remarkable recovery effort completed in record time” and that “this swift rebound highlights Canouan’s resilience and its ongoing commitment to strengthening the island infrastructure against future natural disasters”.

The statement said that the recovery efforts were coordinated in collaboration with authorities, homeowners’ associations, businesses, and the entire community with the chief executive officer of the Canouan Group, Batue Erem, saying “The speed of the recovery shows the strength of the infrastructure and the unwavering dedication of all those involved.
“This isn’t just about restoring what was lost, it’s about creating,”  he added.

The Canouan Group said it is also taking steps to enhance the island’s future preparedness, adding that “a portion of all guest revenues will be allocated to the Canouan Resilience Fund, an initiative focused on further strengthening the island’s infrastructure and resilience against future natural disasters”.

The Group said the fund is a key component of the island’s long-term sustainability plan, turning recovery into an opportunity for future-proofing the island.

“Our vision extends beyond recovery. With the Canouan Resilience Fund, we’re investing in a future that not only meets the demands of our guests but also safeguards our community and the environment.”
A few days following the passage of the hurricane, the Governor General, Dame Susan Dougan, issued an exclusion order for  Erem, who is also the Vice-President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Hotel Association (SVGHTA).

The order was issued after a July 4 interaction between Erem, who is said to have been born in Turkey, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves in the southern Grenadines island.

The order came despite a July 5 letter from Erem to Gonsalves and the SVGHTA in which Erem expressed “regret” over the tone of an interaction between him and Gonsalves one day earlier.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Oct 14, CMC
CMC/kc/ir/2024

The post Hotel reopens three months after passage of hurricane first appeared on CNC3.