Over 350 key travel advisors, trade professionals, tourism officials, global trade media and company executives reserved their most enthusiastic applause for Sandals boss Adam Stewart after his fiery declaration that “There is no storm or weather event that is going to stop Jamaica”.

Stewart was fielding questions Friday at a post-hurricane town hall dubbed “Back to Jamaica”, streamed live to 11,000 travel advisors from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Latin America, who were assembled for an exclusive preview of Sandals Dunn’s River, near Ocho Rios, St Ann.

The all-day event, marked by lights, music, food and rousing speeches, unfolded a day ahead of the opening of five of eight Sandals Jamaica resorts Saturday, meant to showcase the island’s and resorts’ resilience and engage stakeholders through various experiences — evidence that could strengthen confidence and generate positive exposure for the region, after the destruction wrought by Hurricane Melissa.

The Sandals Resorts International (SRI) executive chairman also drew loud cheers when he pledged that Sandals would not be going it alone but would be putting the entire tourism industry ahead of the hotel chain, by not thinking about quarterly profits but the long-term good of the country.

“My father [the late Sandals founder, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart] always said: ‘The Caribbean, Jamaica, and Sandals Resorts were at their absolute best in times of adversity’, and this is one such time,” he said.

At the town hall, Stewart had the solid backing of the president and CEO of the powerful American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) Zane Kerby; Commercial Director Alexander Cavalcanti of American Airlines, the leading carrier to Jamaica; the Jamaican Director of Tourism Donovan White; and the head of Montego Bay Jamaica Airports (MBJ), Shane Munroe.

SRI said the travel advisors, who are the ones who sell vacations to the resorts, were brought in to learn about the recovery efforts undertaken by Sandals and Beaches post-hurricane and the company’s plans for the months to come; connect with tourism stakeholders, local government and tourism partners; and gain first-hand insight into the brand’s offerings, culinary experiences, and unique accommodations.

Bringing a message that “charity helps, tourism sustains”, ASTA’s Kerby urged the travel advisors to do everything to spread the word to their clients that Jamaica needed them now, but also that the island was open for business.

“Your role as demand creators is critical. Keep sending your clients here,” said Kerby whose ASTA represents a growing organisation of more than 18,000 travel advisors. He assured his members that despite the storm, Jamaica would remain top five among aspirational destinations for Americans wanting to vacation abroad.

He acknowledged that the negative images of the hurricane damage that were flashed across the globe by the international media might not be followed up by the rapid rebuilding underway in Jamaica, but the travel advisors should persist in telling the story of resilience they had seen.

American Airlines’s Cavalcanti assured Jamaicans that the carrier has increased rather than deceased flights to the island after the hurricane and was the first commercial airline to resume operations after Melissa.

He said American Airlines had used the occasion to bring in well-needed relief supplies, and pledged that it would remain firmly committed to the rebuilding of Jamaica.

Munroe, the first Jamaican to head MBJ, said Sangster International Airport, which handles 70 per cent of tourist travel into the island, was open for business and he reported that all 29 airlines, and all 48 routes into and out of Jamaica were still maintaining operations. Additionally, several new flights would begin to operate shortly, beginning with WestJet out of Quebec, Canada, on Saturday, December 6.

White, who runs the Jamaica Tourist Board, gave an overview of the recovery efforts, reporting that there has been 80 per cent power restoration to the island; 80 per cent water restoration; 55 per cent of rooms had been reopened and that would grow to 68 per cent by end of December and 80 per cent by end of January.

He had high praise for the tourism workers who had, despite personal setback, threw themselves into bringing back the industry, and saluted Sandals for its unselfish decision to lead the recovery.

Children of Steer Town, St Ann, delighting the town hall audience with their song and dance.