Barbados lands on UK’s COVID ‘green’ list for overseas travel

Barbados’ inclusion in the UK’s so-called “green travel list” is being hailed as a constructive step by one of its main airline partners out of London, as local tourism officials welcome the news that will boost employment in the ailing industry.

Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Geoffrey Roach pointed out that the pace of recovery of the island’s economy was highly dependent on the pace of recovery of tourism.

“So, Barbados being placed on the green list is news that all Barbadians should be happy to hear. The removal of the need to quarantine on return to the UK makes travelling to Barbados more appealing to British travellers,” said Roach.

He was reacting to news on Thursday that Travel Secretary of the UK Grant Shapps announced that effective June 30, 2021 Barbados will join 15 other countries on the green list of the UK’s travel traffic light system.

This means that Brits heading to Bridgetown for a holiday will not have to quarantine upon their return home.

The move comes as local tourism officials continue to hope for a quick turnaround in the island’s bread and butter tourism industry performance, which has been subdued for the past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions imposed by countries.

Roach said he had spoken to some British nationals who were very concerned about the island being on the amber list and discussions with industry officials suggested there was a pent-up demand for travel to Bridgetown.

“What it also means is that Barbadians who want to travel to the UK will not be required to quarantine as long as they meet the entry requirements. This is important as the addition of flights is bolstered by travel from both sides of the travel corridor,” said Roach.

“Our ability to secure increased business from what has become our major source market should also translate into increased numbers of industry workers coming back out to work as occupancy increases. This will not be overnight, but the opportunity to bring greater numbers of employees back out also reduces the stress and burden on households,” he said.

He also acknowledged that the increased numbers in visitor arrivals will have a trickledown effect to other industry operators including attractions and restaurants.

However, Roach issued a word of caution that as the island begins to see an increase in visitors in the coming weeks, a careful balance must be struck to ensure the visitor experience remains at a high level and residents are not put at risk of contracting the dreaded COVID-19 virus.

“We have to continue to ensure that our processes continue to function effectively so as not to put Barbados and Barbadians at risk and also not to diminish the visitor experience – from the process flows through the airport to the administration of PCR tests to the application of protocols at accommodation and other tourism enterprises,” said Roach, who pledged the BHTA’s continued support.

Meanwhile, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told Barbados TODAY the move by the UK on Thursday was “a constructive step”, which will allow for more family and friends to finally reunite and facilitate much needed holidays.

Other Caribbean islands that are going on the green list are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“The addition of Barbados and Grenada on to the green list is a constructive and positive step but we do require further lead time to adjust or reinstate certain operations, which the UK Government has not provided on this occasion,” said the spokesperson.

With Barbados being placed on the go list, it is expected that the island will see an influx of Britons as flights out of the main source market rebound.

Prior to the pandemic, Barbados was known to welcome in excess of 50,000 long-stay visitors on average per month. In 2020, that number sunk to as low as just over 100 visitors some months.

Virgin Atlantic is expected to resume its Manchester to Barbados route on August 7, while its Heathrow to Grenada service is scheduled to resume on August 2.

However, the airline is expected to now “rapidly evaluate” if there was scope to add capacity earlier than planned.

“We remain absolutely committed to returning with our customers to these much-loved destinations this summer. In the meantime, for Manchester-Barbados customers we will be rebooking them on to our Heathrow services, reimbursing their travel costs between Manchester and London Heathrow for the inconvenience, which will continue to operate twice-weekly and is currently scheduled to increase to four services per week from July 19,” the spokesperson said.

Barbados TODAY reached out to Minister of Tourism Senator Lisa Cummins for a reaction but no response was forthcoming up to the time of publication.

Barbados was placed on the May 7 amber list which came with guidance from the UK government warning people against travelling to certain countries.

Being on the amber list meant that even if an individual left the UK fully vaccinated against the virus, they must take a COVId-19 test in that country, then pay for two tests on their return and quarantine for ten days.

The Department for Transport also announced today that it was intended that in coming weeks, arrivals who are fully vaccinated would not have to quarantine when travelling from amber list countries. (emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb)