Caribbean tourism under pressure with new COVID-19 test rules
A demand to increase COVID-19 testing facilities has Caribbean tourism officials rushing for their development. This comes after the United States became the most recent country to require almost all incoming passengers to present a negative test within 72 hours of departure.
As more governments take more steps to refrain from a second wave of the pandemic, some tropical hot spots who have been more lenient towards U.S. tourists are experiencing trouble on their COVID-19 testing capacity.
In a recent statement, Tourism Minister to Jamaica, Edmund Bartlett said that the country has created a special task force focused on increasing COVID-19 testing capacity in order to cater to the needs of the United States, Canada, and other countries by the end of the month.
In particular, the new U.S. policy will take into effect on Jan. 26.
In a report to Reuters, Bartlett says that they have no choice.
“We have to get there or else our industry will die and the impact will be dire for our economy,” he emphasized.
Acting CEO and director general of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Vanessa Ledesma, called the new COVID-19 testing rules “a tremendous challenge” for the territory due to a sparse supply in testing equipment and lab facilities to which can meet the large demand in short turnaround times.
Dr. David Freedman, a U.S. infectious disease specialist, warned of the risk of restraining resources in poor countries that are already having difficulty in testing their own residents.
On the other hand, U.S. carriers support the new testing rules with the goal of reopening international markets in mind.
“I think you can see some short-term demand fluctuation but it’s the right answer for the long term,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Reuters.
The Caribbean is an important market during the pandemic for major U.S. carriers like Delta and American Airlines as well as for budget cost airlines like Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
Opposite to the U.S. announcement, a decision by Canada caught airlines by surprise as they started to require testing for inbound passengers as of Jan. 7. Hundreds of passengers were denied boarding on return flights for ineligible tests.
Air Canada and WestJet Airlines also announced job cuts after the government’s decision, which cited in part the new testing requirements.
Given the situation, Canada delayed the requirement for travelers from Jamaica to comply with the negative COVID-19 tests on arrival by allowing passengers to test upon arrival in Toronto.