Region should employ common protocols to revive tourism

Harmonized health and travel protocols throughout the Caribbean are necessary if the region’s tourism industry is to thrive post COVID-19.

That is the view of Prime Ministers of Grenada and Dominica, Dr Keith Mitchell and Roosevelt Skerrit respectively, who both believe that if protocols differ from island to island it could deter travellers from vacationing in the Caribbean.

Speaking during today’s webinar hosted by the UNDP and entitled, ‘The Future of Tourism, What is Next?’ Skerrit said uniformed protocols would allow tourists to easily and seamlessly hop from island to island with few issues.

He said this could also be used to market the Caribbean as the perfect vacationing spot.

“We have explored the concept of joint marketing in the past in this region. This is something we must move with haste to implement. Our islands, while so similar, offer their own unique experiences and the ability to offer a Caribbean package where one can be trekking through a rainforest and bathing in pristine rivers one week and visiting a drive-in bungalow the next week is long overdue I must say.

“An island-hopping experience can be facilitated by simplified immigration border protection requirements and a more uniformed set of health entry protocols. This is not beyond our region to achieve,” Skerrit said.

“If we have health protocols for different islands we will have a challenge of getting visitors to move, even with regards to intra-regional travel…Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace about our various protocols for travel, which is different from island to island. We must ensure that we all develop harmonized systems that will provide clear and standardized information to travellers and businesses.

“The reality is that in many instances our visitors to our region would like to visit multiple destinations within our region and if we have different travel requirements, different protocols, the region itself will suffer.”

Dr Mitchell contended that an ease in restrictions would help attract visitors eager to travel following extended periods of lockdowns and decreased commercial flights.

However, he maintained it was important every country ensured the safety of its citizens.

“We continue to be optimistic that the tourism industry will rebound and will recover. Our expectations therefore in that regard must be tempered by an unwavering commitment to give priority consideration to the safety of our people. Placing safety at the pinnacle of our efforts to restart tourism will serve as an attraction in of itself.

“A country that demonstrates good COVID-19 management protocols along with easy and efficient entry protocols will no doubt be included on the list of preferred destinations to visitors. In fact, Grenada has already been identified on a list of six countries that potential travellers should have on their radar to visit once they have been fully vaccinated,” Dr Mitchell noted.

He admitted though that he was “disappointed” that no Caribbean country had been included on the UK’s green list of safe countries approved for non-essential travel.

Dr Mitchell said Caribbean islands should come together and lobby the UK for green list status based on their relatively low case numbers and astute management of the pandemic. (RB)