Caribbean cautiously relaunches tourism, with masks and tests
After more than two months of watching their tourism-dependent economies get decimated by the coronavirus, Caribbean nations are starting to reopen their borders to tourists again.
But the experience won’t look anything like the one visitors might have had six months ago. Travelling during the global COVID-19 pandemic will now mean health and safety protocols for hoteliers and tour operators and uncertainty for airlines as island governments demand face masks, temperature checks and COVID-19 testing for passengers.
“There is an expectation that if you are staying in the territory and you feel you have some of the known symptoms for the coronavirus, you report immediately to the government powers that be and then begin self-quarantine,” said Joseph Boschulte, commissioner of tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
On Monday, the U.S. territory, which never officially closed its airports, relaunched its tourism messager. As the pandemic hit in March, USVI Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. closed the islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John to all visitors.
“Eventually, you have to make some steps to try and stimulate your economy. What you do to prepare is key and we are putting the necessary mitigation in place,” Boschulte said. “The governor has said it very clearly: ‘If we see a sharp spike, we’ll shut back down.’ ”
While the virus has mostly been contained in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, reopening airports and cruise ports remains a thorny matter as countries try to figure out how to balance lives with livelihoods. The region is the world’s most dependent on tourism. A number of carriers have announced the resumption of some service for the summer.
On Tuesday, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Carissa Etienne, cautioned nations that opening up too quickly risks “a resurgence of COVID-19 that could erase the advantage gained over the past few months.”
To mitigate against a surge, a number of Caribbean countries are turning to testing.
Already a requirement for travellers to Haiti and the Bahamas, which will begin allowing boaters and privateplane charters on June 15 and international commercial flights on July 1, a negative COVID-19 real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test is also being required in St. Lucia.
The eastern Caribbean island is restricting visitors to those from the United States for now, and requiring “a certified” negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of boarding.
Antigua and Barbuda had hoped to have the airlines administer a rapid test to passengers before boarding, but now says its health officials will do so upon arrival, although everyone will need to fill out a health form.
Industry officials concede that safety will be a top priority in order to lure back consumers.
“The ability for Caribbean countries to remain closed indefinitely is not realistic,” said Anton Edmunds, St. Lucia’s ambassador to the U.S. “It’s beyond tourists. I am dealing with nationals, folks in the diaspora who want to go home for funerals.”
Last month, the Caribbean Community signalled the desire to reopen the region’s borders to intra-regional travel among its 15 member states. But while St. Lucia and Antigua have moved ahead and Jamaica has announced a June 15 reopening for international travellers, many countries are choosing to move more slowly.
The issue, say regional watchers, is that once airports resume operations, a lot of stranded nationals will head home, straining quarantine capacities. In recent weeks, Jamaica, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines all reported new COVID-19 infections from repatriated cruise-ship workers, despite their being stranded on boats for two months.
The challenge with testing has been getting the volume of approved PCR tests available, the costs and the time it takes for securing results. Also, the airlines do not want to be responsible for policing such requirements.
In March, when Haiti became the first Caribbean nation to make a negative COVID-19 test a requirement to travel there, Jetblue Airways suspended all service to the country.
Laura Masvidal, a spokeswoman with American Airlines, said St. Lucia’s negative COVID-19 test requirement is the reason why the airlines have delayed returning to the island until July 7.
American Airlines will require all its passengers to wear face coverings while onboard.
Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Brown said the bottom line is that countries will have to learn to live with COVID-19.
“The hotels have been transformed into bio-secured properties with strict health protocols to prevent the individuals from contracting and transmitting COVID,” he said.