The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A top Ministry of Tourism official yesterday promised there was “light at the end of the tunnel” for the nation’s largest industry as research shows “70 percent of Americans” will still travel this year.

Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry’s director-general, speaking on a webinar hosted by the Eugene Dupuch Law School, said international travel by tourists will resume by late summer and start to increase going into 2020’s fall season despite the continued threat posed by COVID-19.

Acknowledging that the fear of becoming infected will deter some from travelling, Mrs Jibrilu said The Bahamas and other tourist-dependent nations cannot escape the reality that COVID-19 risks will be present for some time come.

The government’s decision to reverse course and maintain the COVID-19 “status quo”, which will require tourists to present a “negative” PCR swab test to be admitted to The Bahamas post-July 1, is already forcing hotels, airlines and tourism-related businesses to hurriedly revise projections amid concerns that the expense, time and difficulty in obtaining tests could deter more persons from travelling.

Mrs Jibrilu, describing a vaccine or “rapid test” for COVID-19 as the ideal solution, said The Bahamas and other Caribbean states had little choice but to re-open and kickstart their economies given the consequences of remaining locked down would be disastrous for employment, incomes and most businesses.

She added that The Bahamas’ phased tourism re-opening will give the country an opportunity to “test the waters” and ensure its COVID-19 health protocols are working properly to protect Bahamians as well as their tourism guests.

“The reality is that the COVID-19 virus is still with us. Many countries are still trying to manage the outbreak. The virus will be a concern for some time to come,” Mrs Jibrilu said. “The maintenance of health and safety in the post-lockdown environment will be primary on the minds of travellers. There needs to be a vaccine or a rapid test for tourist and travellers.

“Despite the risk, economies need to be restarted for people to get back to work and to help with revenue generation for Caribbean countries.” While the revised health protocols had created further uncertainty over the tourism industry’s prospects following its full July 1 re-opening, Mrs Jibrilu promised: “There is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Travel will begin in the late summer and increase later in the fall. Shorter flights will be preferred for travellers, and thus proximity to the United States and Canada will be preferred. Airlift will stabilise over time. The consumer interest in travel is improving every day, and the lifting of travel restrictions will assure a return to the normal.”

The director-general also pointed to recent statistics suggesting that “70 percent of Americans will take a trip this year”, and surveys of US and global consumers stating they will focus on relaxation first when they travel, as evidence of pent-up demand for a Bahamas vacation.

Most said they will seek value for money instead of the lowest price, while rural and adventure tourism are forecast to rebound and beach vacations will remain strong.

Mrs Jibrilu said: “People are moving away from the model of close proximity, and providing quality instead of quantity is now essential. We have to look at ‘all-inclusives’ and the larger resorts. We have to look at that moving forward. There is a need to reconsider the mass tourism approach. Lower tourists may limit the effects of overcrowding and pollution “

While disclosing that “market intelligence tells us the fear of COVID-19 is a limiting factor to booking a trip, Mrs Jibrilu said tourism’s phased reopening approach will allow The Bahamas to “test the waters” and reduce the infection risks. “This will ensure tourists that the protocols work,” she added.

With leisure travel expected to decline significantly, Ms Jibrilu said “tourism must be made a viable and a less risky pursuit” for Caribbean destinations. “Tourism stakeholders must have time and training to protect themselves against the risk associated with COVID-19,” she added.

“Travellers should be expected to conform to our healthy traveller campaign, which encourages social distancing and washing of hands and hand sanitisation, as well as travelling with the appropriate personal protection equipment. Buffets will be discontinued and menus will be displayed on a static board.”

“We have learned a lot from this pandemic. Technology has been key. Technology will change how we interact with people moving forward. Online applications and artificial intelligence will be important moving forward to how we limit how we interact with one another.”

She warned against increased fraud resulting from greater reliance on technology, and urged tourism operators and travellers to take care when dealing with credit cards and other touch-less apparatus for transactions.