Operating in about six locations throughout the Caribbean, Chukka offers a wide variety of adventure tours, from horseback riding to ziplining, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) bike tours, safari tours, river tubing/kayaking, river rafting, power snorkeling, catamaran sails and more.
Grateful that damage was kept to a minimum and revenue continues to flow in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, Chukka Caribbean Adventures CEO Mark Melville expects operations to be fully resumed within the next two weeks.
Melville said its main bases in St. Ann, Trelawny and Lucy sustained little damage from the powerful Category 4 storm and tours were continuing at each base, despite operations running with less than 50 per cent of its maximum staff of around 800.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Monday, Melville said the majority of Chukka operations were able to resume last weekend, but operations at some facilities are still scaled down due to issues such as power outages and road closures caused by fallen trees.
“All our locations are essentially open but we are reopening in a phased manner. Sandy Bay (Lucy) has nine tours operating but only five are currently open. Seville (St Ann) has three tours but only one or two are currently open. Good Hope (Trelawny) has six tours but only two are currently open. There has been no significant damage to our plant infrastructure or tour assets but there is a lot of downed trees and road damage. All of this needs to be fixed to enable us to recover better,” he told Business Observer.
The CEO expressed gratitude for continued bookings and minimal impact to most of the local tourism industry and its stakeholders, and said he was confident tours would resume fully soon after post-hurricane cleanup efforts.
“We expect to continue to have less business than normal for the next two weeks or so. Our business operates primarily on the north coast so has not been affected as much as the south coast which has been devastated. We do have tourists from Negril and the surrounding parishes but they typically make up a small proportion of our business so the loss of revenue will not have as much of an impact,” Mr Melville said.
“So far, we’ve had a worse start to July than normal, so we expect the slowdown to continue for probably another 10 days as it takes time for road conditions to improve, power to be restored, some connectivity to be restored and we get most, if not all, of our staff back to work,” he added.
The CEO praised the resilience of the local tourism product and the sometimes seasonal year-round booms, and expressed confidence that business will be strong this summer as tourists continue to flock to the island.
“Jamaica has two peak seasons and the country depends on them. The cruise and resort season is from December to April and the other is from June 1 to August 30. We need the summer season as much as we need the winter season. The good news is that we have seen very little drop-off in tourists, which is a very good thing. It means our communications have been effective. Yes, we have been hit, but we are a big island and we have remained open. Many of our hotels, especially the larger ones, are largely self-sufficient and have their own water treatment systems and generators, so they can easily go off the grid without major issues,” he argued.
Operating in around six locations throughout the Caribbean, Chukka offers a wide variety of adventure tours, from horseback riding to ziplining, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) driving, safari tours, river tubing/kayaking, river rafting, power snorkeling, catamaran sailing and more.
The privately held company, in which the Pan Jamaica Group also has a stake, is a major revenue contributor to the hospitality division of the conglomerate, which also includes the Courtyard by Marriott in New Kingston and the ROK Hotel in St. Andrew and Kingston.
Melville said he was now solely focused on recovery efforts and would continue to make the expenditures necessary to ensure operations were fully prepared by the end of the deadline.
“We are currently dealing with expenses and revenue losses both before and after the hurricane. As we continue to cover many expenses, it is too early to release a final figure for our estimated losses. However, we are grateful that we were able to weather the situation with minimal impact.”
“Having weathered COVID-19, which was one of the worst crises of our lifetime, I believe the industry is resilient and can withstand any other challenges. For Chukka, having a presence in six territories is good for business. Even if we are hit hard, we will have a foothold in five others as we are well spread across the Western Caribbean and the South and in Barbados,” the CEO said.
