The Tribune

AS powerful Hurricane Matthew churns towards the Bahamas, some visitors have left vulnerable areas with plans underway to evacuate others, the Ministry of Tourism said.

On Grand Bahama, the Old Bahama Bay Resort, the Taino Beach Resort and Flamingo Bay Hotel and Marina will evacuate all guests off property by the end of Tuesday. Sunwing Airlines will deploy aircraft to evacuate guests at Memories Resort.

There are currently 1,537 tourists staying in various hotels on Grand Bahama.

Boaters at the marinas on the island are also departing. The airport on the island is operating as normal until further notice.

While some of the visitors on the Family Islands are evacuating ahead of the storm, some visitors and second homeowners say they will stay put.

As of Monday, there were 90 guests on the island of Abaco; 38 visitors on Andros; 25 international visitors in the Berry Islands; 392 guests in Bimini; 489 guests in Exuma; Long Island has 3 guests, and 18 international visitors are on San Salvador, the ministry said.

On Cat Island, four visitors left on Monday. Three international visitors on Inagua and two visitors on Mayaguana also left those islands.

On Crooked Island, four visitors also left yesterday but two second homeowners are staying on the island.

Finally, three second homeowners on Ragged Island remain on the island.

Several cruise ships have cancelled scheduled visits to the Bahamas or have changed their itinerary to avoid Hurricane Matthew.

Carnival Sensation, which was scheduled to call on Half Moon Cay and then Grand Turk will instead visit Mexico.

Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Elation, Enchantment of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Norwegian Sky and Disney Dream have all cancelled calls to the Bahamas.

Carnival Victory has rescheduled its itinerary to avoid the storm and visited Nassau on Monday. It will visit Freeport today.

The Port Department has advised that the Port of Nassau will close at noon Tuesday. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force will take charge of the facility and be responsible for its reopening.

The Ministry of Tourism said it has fully activated its Emergency Coordinating Committee Command Centre at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau in preparation for Hurricane Matthew.

The committee represents a cross-section of the Ministry of Tourism that includes senior management and other officers who will monitor the storm’s movements and ensure the safety and security of visitors.

The crisis management team is liaising with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Nassau Airport Development Company, the Port Authority and other relevant authorities.

“All hotels and resorts throughout the Bahamas have activated their hurricane programmes and are taking all necessary precautions to protect visitors and residents, as safety remains the highest priority,” Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu said.

“We want to assure all persons who may have family members visiting the Bahamas at this time, that every measure is being taken by hotels and our tourism offices to ensure the safety and security of those visitors. We will continue to reach out to each island for regular updates,” Ms Jibrilu added.