The latest ease in COVID-19 travel protocols has been welcomed by visitors to the island, with some saying it has made Barbados more attractive.
Last week, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced that effective August 20, unvaccinated travellers would no longer be tested on arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA).
Instead, unvaccinated travellers have to provide a negative rapid antigen test or PCR test taken within three days of arrival.
When a team from Barbados TODAY visited the GAIA on Tuesday afternoon, visitors gave the move a thumbs up.
An English tourist on her second trip to the island, who only gave her name as Claire, said she was happy the testing requirement had been removed.
“Yes, it’s definitely easier and it makes it a lot more enjoyable. I’d rather not have to get the PCR or rapid test either but, obviously, you have to do what you’ve got to do,” said the tourist who was accompanied by her two daughters.
Another British visitor, who opted to remain anonymous but disclosed she will be staying here for 11 nights, also approved of the change.
She said the time had come for the world to accept that living with COVID-19 is the new norm.
“We just need to live with it now and we just have to kind of stop causing all of this disruption, really. That’s my view, but it certainly does make travelling easier,” she said.
Adrian Lovell, a Trinidadian who flew in from New York, said the new protocol was in line with what was happening elsewhere.
“It’s very much in line with what’s happening at other airports around the world. I was at a cruise a few weeks ago and they are now more lax with testing so it seems as though it’s in line with everything that’s going on,” he said.
However, Lovell suggested there was a potential downside. He cautioned that while the elimination of the testing protocol would improve the travel experience, it could also result in an increase in COVID-19 infections.
“It seems like on one hand, the pandemic is shifting down but then on the other side it still seems like cases are there and a lot of people are getting infected, so it will be interesting to see how these changes affect the number of infected persons here, but I’m hoping for the best,” the visitor said.
Adding that the change in protocols would also likely result in more people coming to the island, Lovell added: “On one hand, travelling is going to be a lot smoother and on the other hand, there’s going to be a lot more people travelling so there may be more lines, but not having to get tested that does make things a little bit more convenient.”
