When You Just Want to Help Areas Ravaged by a Hurricane…

Go there.

After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, many travel agents have spent hour after hour re-arranging travel for their clients. We’re happy to help- we never want anyone caught in harm’s way! But unfortunately, for many of these clients, they’re not going to make it back to Houston to take their next cruise. They’re not going to reschedule their vacation to Puerto Rico. Tortola, Dominica, Antigua, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. Martin have been removed from cruise itineraries so they’ll just visit a different island. And that’s a tragedy in itself.

Whenever this kind of devastation strikes, most of us wonder what we can do to help and do the best we can. But it’s important that we look at all the ways we can help- it’s not always just texting Red Cross to have an automatic $5 donation taken out of your bank account. The islands in the Caribbean are incredibly resilient. They will rebuild and they will return to life as normal. But ultimately, what we’re looking at here, is a complete closure of their single most profitable industry- tourism- for months. From the 5* resorts to cab companies to the tiniest coffee shop off a side road, they will all struggle. They’ve had to refund reservations, can’t get new ones for the timeframe that they’re closed, and are certainly going to suffer from slow business when they do re-open.

So if you’re looking for another way to help, make a point to visit these hurricane-ravaged areas. Go out of your way to go on a cruise that will stop in any of the hard hit islands, visit Houston and utilize the Galveston, TX port, escape the winter in Naples, FL, spend your anniversary in Puerto Rico. This isn’t an idea limited to the areas affected by the hurricanes, either. Turn your layover in Mexico City to a stopover and explore and support a beautiful city recuperating from an earthquake. Spend a long weekend in Las Vegas and visit the areas that felt tragedy. You don’t have to spend extra money- you can simply use your dollars to support those who really, really need it.