#BTEditorial – Tourism risk cannot be avoided

We in Barbados are desperate to get our economy going again, and who could criticise the Mia Mottley administration for doing all in its power to return some life to our country that is wrestling with four consecutive quarters of double-digit declines.

The international cruise sector is champing at the bit to return to the seas after suffering billions of dollars in pandemic losses. And given the major humanitarian role that Barbados played last year, in providing vital air and port access to thousands of cruise passengers and crew, we are expecting the sector will show Barbados some significant goodwill, in return.

With 121 million Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 36 million Britons, receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, we are certainly hedging our bets that we will benefit from that pent up demand for travel and leisure.

The months-long lockdowns in Britain, for example, have only made the desire to “getaway” even more palatable. And who do we expect to be the first on those British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus flights into the Grantley Adams International Airport?

Certainly, those long-haul travellers who have the means to spend lengthy holiday trips away in the Caribbean, and therefore, will not be put off if they are forced to spend a few more days in quarantine when they return home.

Those are the kind of visitors we are hoping to attract this coming winter season. They are big spenders, who want to be associated with brand Barbados because of its alignment with luxury and status in Britain and other parts of Europe.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins has had a baptism of fire to the ministry. She has made a few missteps, but that is expected, as she finds her footing, balancing the political with policy demands.

“Managing these times is challenging . . . . It has been planning for the worst but preparing for the best. It has been about risk mitigation and adaptation. It has been about reasoned analysis and unchecked rhetoric masquerading as commentary.  It has been about encouraging and supporting while setting standards and enforcing them,” the young Minister said at a recent forum.

We could not agree more with Senator Cummins. The next few months will be about planning for the worst and mitigating risks. For especially in this pandemic, citizens are fearful about the future. The future of their health and that of their economic well-being.

COVID-19 and the ever-increasing list of deadlier, more virulent variants are cause for major anxiety.

With Barbados heavily dependent on the major cruise lines that sail out of the global hub in Florida, it was most discouraging to hear controversial Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis lash out at cruise companies requesting passengers to show evidence that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

In his misguided and politically expedient calculation, the Florida Governor passed a law which comes into effect on July 1, preventing such businesses from enforcing “vaccine passports”.

The DeSantis law has put the very cruise lines that were ravaged by the COVID-19, back in danger of being shunned because they are prone to become hotbeds for the disease again. Worse yet, his actions could endanger the lives of millions who reside in the Caribbean and who are desperate to welcome back short and long-stay visitors.

To compound the danger, almost every variant of the COVID-19 has been confirmed present in Florida.

The other strange occurrence that we in the Caribbean must also guard against is the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines giving the green light for cruise ships to begin sailing again from United States ports on condition that 98 per cent of crew members and 95 per cent of passengers must be fully vaccinated.

As Frank Del Rio, the CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holding, puts it, why leave the loophole for COVID-19 to enter cruise ships.

We wholeheartedly align with Del Rio’s position regarding cruise passengers. Either get the COVID-19 vaccine, stay home or find another destination to visit.

“For the life of me, I don’t understand 98 per cent and not 100 per cent. So, you have a big ship. You have 1, 800 crew members on board and you’re going to vaccinate 1, 764 of them, but not 36? What a loophole to allow potential COVID to be introduced in the crew area.

“One hundred per cent, at least in the beginning, I believe, should be the model. And if the CDC and the rest of the industry want to go in a different direction, great. We want to go 100 per cent. We want clearance for 100 per cent.”

COVID-19 is not to be trifled with. Our neighbours next door in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago closed their borders for more than a year and are still struggling with dangerously high infection levels.

The decision by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to declare a state of emergency from Saturday night and a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew would not have been one taken lightly, as it is expected to further undermine the economy.

These are all risks, as Senator Cummins acknowledges are par for the course as we seek to survive during this unpredictable and disabling pandemic.