#MONTEGO BAY, March 23 (JIS): Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica remains in dialogue with key international partners in order to minimise the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the global industry.
He told JISNews that the Ministry has been in talks with the United Nations
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the European Union (EU), among others.
He noted that
the focus “is on the way forward and steps to be taken in terms of building
support mechanisms and to come up with an appropriate plan to address the
crisis”.
“We are mindful
of the fact that all source markets are either taking strong restrictive
measures such as closing their borders or have developed some very elevated
protocols, which call for quarantining or heavy screening of visitors who come
into their shores,” he pointed out.
“We, however, must
ensure that all lines of communication remain open and that we don’t fall into
a sense of hopelessness, despite the obvious challenges,” he added.
Mr. Bartlett said that the country, in the short-term, might
have to look at placing a lot more emphasis on domestic tourism, adding that
creative ways have to be found to assist the hotels that choose to remain open.
He noted, however,
that the Ministry of Health and Wellness guidelines relating to mass gatherings
and social distancing must be followed.
“I think it is
fair to say that traditional tourism the way we know it in Jamaica, the
Caribbean and in almost all other areas of the world will require a new
approach to building back the industry,” the Tourism Minister said.
He expressed confidence that together, as a
nation, we will get over this hurdle… however difficult it might now seem”.
President of
the Jamaica, Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Omar Robinson, for his part,
noted that the level-four travel advisory issued by the United States State
Department on March 19 warning citizens not to travel abroad will have a far-reaching
impact on the industry.
“Level four is
the highest level of alert in a travel advisory, so yes, it will have an impact.
It will probably be the deciding factor in hotels/attractions and other tourism
entities remaining opened or closed. Each entity will have to make that call,
but survival is the key right now,” he noted.