The devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma across the Caribbean will not dampen the region’s resolve to continue to be one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, tourism bosses have said.

Though some islands, notably the British Virgin Islands, Barbuda and St Martin, suffered extensive damage from one of the strongest storms to hit the region in a decade, the Caribbean tourist board said fewer than 10 per cent of hotels and resorts are set to be closed for longer than a week.

“The best way to help us rebuild is to continue with your holiday plans, keep making your holiday plans,” said Colin James, the CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda tourist board, the latter of which was reduced to “rubble” by Irma, which damaged 90 per cent of the island’s buildings. “We are working very hard to help Barbuda, but it will take a year for repairs to be fully completed.”

But despite the destruction seen on newsreels around the world, Mr James said Antigua, Barbuda’s larger and better-known sibling 40 miles to the south, was “largely unscathed”.

“If you came to Antigua now you would not be able to tell [it had been hit a hurricane,” he said. “The contrast is night and day between Antigua and Barbuda.”

In an effort to spread the message that the Caribbean, visited by about a million British holidaymakers each year, is open for business, its regional tourism organisation (the CTO) has been issuing regular updates on the progress of the islands’ recovery.

Which island have been worst hit?

Anguilla

A number of hotels have begun clean up operations, while the Malliouhana and Quintessence Boutique Resort anticipated more extended recovery times.

Antigua and Barbuda

The majority of hotels on Antigua are welcoming guests again, while the CTO said though Barbuda’s 100 hotel rooms have been damaged, the overall effect on tourism should be “minimal”.

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The Bahamas

“The Bahamas is getting back to business as airports are open in Nassau, Grand Bahama Island and on nearly all Out Islands,” said the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. “Parts of the southern islands were more heavily impacted with damage ranging from cosmetic to severe structural damage.” However, the tourist board said the “majority of hotels and resorts throughout the Bahamas are operating as usual”.

The British Virgin Islands

The British Overseas Territory received significant damage but many hotels report that they can reopen shortly. The Anegada Reef Hotel said it was “fine”.

The BVIs were hit hard Credit: Alamy

Dominican Republic

The CTO said all the hotels it had heard from were fully operational.

Haiti

“All services remain in operation and the country continues to welcome visitors,” said the CTO.

Montserrat

The same is true of Montserrat which said it has emerged “unscathed”.

Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company said that “nearly all hotels are operational and receiving guests”, including a number of Marriott properties which welcomed some 700 guests from nearby islands worse hit.

Millions were left without power in Puerto Rico Credit: AFP/RICARDO ARDUENGO

St Maarten/St Martin

The Franco-Dutch island was hit hard by Hurricane Irma and the relief effort is continuing. Nearly all resorts and hotels were damaged, some seriously, and the vital aid is currently the focus of the authorities. Some guests were evacuated to Puerto Rico.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Club Med, which has a resort on the island, said all guests had been flown home and that it will not be accepting new guests until the beginning of October. While a number of other resorts remain open, others, including Gansevoort, said they will close for a month or so to assess the damage.

US Virgin Islands

Ports and airports have reopened and the majority of hotels on St Croix are welcoming guests again. St Thomas, however, suffered more damage. Nearly all resorts on the islands have said they will remain closed until further notice.

Cuba's capital, Havana, suffered flooding Credit: REUTERS/STRINGER

Cuba

Thomas Cook is continuing to evacuate its customers from the island, the northern coast of which was hit badly by Irma. The operator said it was offering customers due to travel to Cayo Coco up to the end of October free cancellations or rebookings. Thomas Cook said the Cayos, a popular holiday destination, had received “considerable damage” and that it was reviewing the status of its hotels in Havana.

Rachel O’Reilly, the head of communications at luxury operator Kuoni, said the impact varies from island to island but that some had escaped unaffected, including St Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica. She said some guests whose holidays had been disrupted by Irma had been relocated to one of these.

What about the US?

Florida suffered whiplash from the tail of Hurricane Irma when it made landfall earlier in the week. All the of state’s airports have now reopened, after the cancellation of some 10,000 flights, and Britain's key airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have resumed operations.

The Florida Keys, however, and its airports remain closed to holidaymakers, with commercial flights suspended to Key West International.

The Florida Keys remain closed Credit: Getty

Virgin Atlantic continues to offer anyone flying to Orlando, Miami or Atlanta before September 17 the opportunity to rebook to an alternative destination.

“Many of the impacted area have limited communication or are still under curfew so it is difficult to gauge the full impact” a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said. “However, as a precaution Virgin Holidays has taken Cuba, Miami and Naples and Marco Island in Florida, off sale until the situation can be thoroughly reviewed.”

British Airways said flights had resumed to Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, but that it continued to offer those booked to fly up to September 20 the opportunity to rebook onto a later date up to October 14.

Have flights been affected?

More than 14,000 flights have been cancelled across Florida and Caribbean, with 10,000 from Florida alone, as Irma approached the US mainland.

A spokesperson said Princess Juliana International on St Maarten - one of the world’s most famous airports thanks to the proximity of incoming aircraft to tourists on the beach - had “sustained significant damage and is currently unreachable”. San Juan, on Puerto Rico, has reopened following damage to the airport’s radar facilities.

The maximum sustained speed of Irma’s winds was recorded at 152 knots, more than twice the speed at which airports are forced to shut.

Florida's airports, including Orlando and Miami, have reopened but Key West remains closed to commercial flights.

Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: "The adverse weather conditions caused by Hurricanes Irma and Jose mean our flights to and from Florida and the Caribbean are severely disrupted. We ask customers check the status of their flights at flight status before they travel to the airport." Customers booked to travel up to September 17 have been offered a variety of rebooking options.

A spokesperson for BA said that anyone due to travel to or from Florida before September 17, inclusive, can rebook for dates up to October 14.

Will there be long-term damage?

Euromonitor, which analyses travel trends, especially in the wake of terror attacks or natural disasters, said that the US stands to lose about 1.2 per cent of its arrivals, amounting to 1.2 million people globally. Caroline Bremmer, head of travel at the group, said she also anticipates that Cuban tourism could be negatively impacted, with 56,000 less visitors thanks to Irma.