Business View Caribbean | October 2019

4 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN OCTOBER 2019 The 2017Atlantic Hurricane Season resulted in the region losing over US $1 billion in tourism revenues global warming, have been increasingly posing to Caribbean economies, which are the most tourism dependent in the world. The fund would be designed to help to build capacity to respond to disruptive threats to the region’s economic sustainability, particularly those related to climate change impacts. During his presentation, Minister Bartlett argued that the devastation caused by hurricanes Maria and Irma to 13 of the region’s most tourism- dependent economies during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, resulted in the region losing over US $1 billion in tourism revenues. He also noted that the recent devastation of the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, following the passage of hurricane Dorian, which battered the islands for almost 72 hours, underscore the importance and urgency of establishing a funding facility of this nature. Given the enormous economic impact of the tourism industry on regional economies, Minister Bartlett stated that the Resilience Fund will not only enhance tourism resilience in the region but it will also help to avert the widespread socio- economic fallout that is usually associated with major disasters in the region by ensuring that countries are better prepared.