Jamaica struggles to recover a year after Hurricane Melissa hit as peak tourism season looms

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Jamaica’s once flourishing tourism sector is struggling to regain its footing nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island as a Category 5 storm.High deductibles and delays in insurance claim settlements mean that hotels and other businesses are running out of operating capital as Jamaica’s peak winter travel season approaches.An estimated 20 hotels remain closed nearly a year after Melissa hit, killing dozens of people and causing an estimated $12 billion in damage, much of it in the island’s northwest region.Tourism represents up to 35% of Jamaica’s GDP. It also accounts for more than half of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings and employs roughly one in four workers when indirect jobs are factored in.The greatest hurdle to full recovery of the tourism sector isn’t the availability of construction materials or labor; it’s a mounting insurance crisis characterized by severe payout delays, massive deductions and a crippling cash shortfall.“Claims are being paid slowly and settled short, and that leaves a working-capital hole across the sector,” said O’Brian Heron, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.According to the...