Cancelled trips and shuttered attractions have forced many tour guides to sit at home, uncertain when visitors will return after the blow Hurricane Melissa delivered to Jamaica’s tourism product.

O’Brien Sterling, operator of O’Brien and Sons Ja Tours in Montego Bay, is one such tour guide who plays a vital role in connecting visitors with Jamaica’s culture, history, and natural beauty.

But the damage caused by the Category 5 hurricane has wiped out his main source of income.

“Everything just get stuck right now because I do tours, but now nothing nah gwaan. Tourism, for now, to how me see it, it on a pause,” he told the Jamaica Observer last Thursday. “That is what keeps MoBay [Montego Bay] going. The way how tourism is, it’s like everybody want to be a guide. You have more tour guide than guests right now. That’s how much it is beneficial.”

Sterling said that before the hurricane he had a dozen visitors booked to arrive on the island this month.

“I had 12 people to come on the 12th of November and them cancel because of what happened. Them cancel even before the storm reach. Two of them didn’t really cancel as yet, but I made them cancel because they said they would wait and see, but knowing my guests who come here to me all the while I know their likes and where they like to go,” he explained.

Sterling argued that the industry will not be fully up and running soon and as such his clients would have wasted their money as they would not have fun here.

Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s south-western coast and cut a path of death and destruction across western and north-western parishes, affecting the tourism product in those sections of the island.

Given the extent of damage, Sterling believes that the tour experience will not be as it was prior to the storm.

“I have somebody who said they are coming on the 16th [of November], I sure know say when them come Jamaica not gonna be the same. The only thing they can capture is the damage. But it ain’t gonna be fun, because one tourist can’t make a business open and function,” he said.

Luckily for Sterling, he has a second source of income, the Where Dirty Meets Clean Car Wash in Catherine Hall, St James, a business venture he said he pursued after the tourism sector slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Tourism is a nice thing, but it no nice right now, because I have friends who are in tourism who can’t even drive right now, because a that alone them count on. Is like them money totally lock off,” he said.

“I go through it already where tourism was booming, you not doing anything else, and then inna COVID-19 everything get stuck. Nuff people right now in tourism, they going through it wicked,” Sterling said.

In the hilly terrain of Johns Hall the devastation was personal for tour guide and caretaker of Johns Hall Adventure Tours, Delroy Dove, who lost both his home and his livelihood to Hurricane Melissa.

“Right now, everything on pause because the place mash down. When the guests come, that’s the dining room area and the bar. As you can see everything is down flat. Nothing save back. This storm deal with we terrible,” he said, pointing to building that housed his business.

The attraction, which was once known for its scenic view and nature tour, was filled with fallen trees, branches, zinc, dislocated wooden railings, and overturned benches and tables.

Dove said the wooden three-bedroom dwelling at the location also collapsed with him inside, resulting in injuries to his head, back, and one of his hands.

“Boy, I see darkness, and then I see light,” Dove recalled, still visibly shaken from the experience. “A when me drop out me see light, for when it lift up with me, me a say, ‘Ah it this now,’ for it lift up like a plane off the Earth,” he said, adding, “When it lift up first, it drop back down the gully [and] me find myself outside, and me creep up.”

Despite the near-death experience, Dove said he is grateful for life.

According to the tour guide, during a typical week before the storm, the attraction welcomed hundreds of visitors, especially during the Christmas season.

“In busy time we get at least 600 persons for a week,” he told the Jamaica Observer. Despite the damage, Dove is hopeful that the tourism sector will recover soon.

“To them [tourists] Jamaica is a blessed country, so they will want to come look and give a little help, because they love here. They love Jamaica so they will want [to] come and give a helping hand. As soon as hotel open up back they will want to come and drive around,” Dove said.

Another caretaker of the property, who gave his name as Devral, said the storm’s impact has been devastating not only for the business but for the people who depend on tourism for a livelihood.

“If this never happened, we would have had tours going on. We would have had tours yesterday, today, and again on Friday,” he said.

Delroy Dove, tour guide and caretaker of Johns Hall Adventure Tours, shows the injuries he sustained to his head and body after his home collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Delroy Dove, tour guide and caretaker of Johns Hall Adventure Tours, shows the damage to the property after Hurricane Melissa last Thursday.