Tourism stakeholders want standardised entry for the Caribbean

By Sashell Williams

Tourism stakeholders are calling for a standardised entry protocol across the Caribbean to speed up the sector’s recovery.

Representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Carnival Corporation which operates Carnival Cruises, American Airlines and Montego Bay Airports Limited (MBJ) made the call during the launch of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s (PSOJ) new economic series.

The series is titled, “PSOJ Roadmap to Jamaica 2.0”.  It features local and international thought leaders from different industries as they discuss the next steps to boost Jamaica’s economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first discussion which took place on Wednesday focused on tourism, as the sector was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic.

Co-chair of the PSOJ’s economic policy committee, Jeffery Hall, noted that tourism makes up a large part of the country’s gross domestic product.

“Tourism accounts directly for 10.5% of GDP during a normal year and more than 30% of GDP indirectly,” he said.

All the panellists agreed that travel demand still exists and that a universal entry protocol to countries across the region would make it easier for customers to schedule and enjoy trips.

Vice President of Global Ports and Caribbean Government Relations at Carnival Corporation, Marie McKenzie said that multiple entry requirements to countries in the region may be deterring visitors.

“One of the challenges we’ve seen so far, even though we have not started sailing, is the variation in requirements; in websites for guests to complete for entry etc.,” she said.

“Imagine a cruise with multiple destinations that we’re going into on one itinerary and every destination has a different set of requirements that we have to communicate to guests, that we have to follow and that we must meet,” she added.

McKenzie said that while the company has not earned any revenue since March 13, when the cruise industry shutdown, it is currently selling trips for 2021. This, she said, is an indication that the travel demand is still present.

Similarly, Vice President of Latin America, Caribbean and Florida Sales at American Airlines, Christine Valls said customers have been having trouble navigating the requirements in each country.

“It’s not only whether it’s a PCR test or antigen test or rapid test.  It’s also, do you need a test within three days, five days or ten days?  Do you need to quarantine or not quarantine?” she asked.

To that point, CEO of MBJ, Shane Munroe noted that countries which have less strict, or no entry requirements have seen an increase in visitors in the past several months.

Countries such as Mexico, he said, have already seen a recovery in travel to between 50-75% of the previous year.

Munroe said he is hopeful that for 2021, Jamaica will see between 50-75% of its 2019 arrivals.

He said that in 2019, which was a record year for tourism arrivals in Jamaica, MBJ saw some 4.7 million passengers arriving in its airports. He added, however, that success will depend on Government decisions regarding protocols and restrictions.

The panellists agreed that the health and safety of residents and visitors is the main priority. However, to make travel more comfortable and more appealing, a universal standard will be needed.

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