As Hurricane Melissa slammed the island of Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board said that safety of visitors on the island remained "the top priority."
Edmund Bartlett, the minister of tourism, indicated there were about 25,000 visitors in Jamaica at the time Melissa hit as a Category 5 hurricane.
Hotels and resorts were already taking precautions ahead of the storm, which struck Tuesday morning with wind gusts of up to 215 mph and the possibility of three feet of rainfall or more in parts of Jamaica, according to a bulletin from AccuWeather. Several cruise lines routed ships to the Western Caribbean.
The Jamaica Ministry of Tourism's Tourism activated its Emergency Operations Centre, or TEOC, which it said coordinates communication and information between hotels, attractions, transportation providers and government agencies such as the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.
As part of the response, the JTB said, hoteliers are offering distress rates to visitors who needed to extend their stay, and shelter spaces have been made available, including the Montego Bay Convention Centre and James Hunter Conference Centre in Negril.
"The safety and security of our visitors are paramount," Bartlett said in the statement. "Through the coordinated efforts of the TEOC and our industry partners, we are ensuring that all necessary measures are in place to protect and assist every guest. Jamaica's tourism sector is built on strong partnerships and resilience, and those values are guiding our response currently."
Visitors can use the following lines to contact the TEOC: (876) 382-6712, (658) 213-2802, (658) 213-2803, (658) 213-2804. A WhatsApp number is available at (876) 469-0265.
AccuWeather said the hurricane was forecast to make landfall in Cuba Tuesday night or Wednesday morning before moving to the Bahamas.