The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A TOP hotelier said “tourism momentum will increase” with the Centres for Disease Control lowering the country’s travel advisory to Level 2 from Level 3.

Robert Sands, Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business the reduced alert level will “help with the momentum of tourism moving forward. As a direct result of that we want to encourage all Bahamians to pay attention to the protocols and get vaccinated because as we do these things we will get a further reduction and we will see an increase momentum in our tourism trajectory.”

The CDC confirmed the new grading yesterday saying there is only a “moderate level of COVID-19” in the country.

Since August The Bahamas has moved from a Level 4 “do not travel,” to a Level 3 “Reconsider travel” in November to now the CDC just asking travellers to “exercise increased caution”.

However, with the Omicron COVID-19 variant surging in US with the variant comprising 80 percent of all new infections in the Miami-Dade, Florida area, Mr Sands is “concerned” not just with the Omicron variant but with any strain of the COVID-19 and further warns Bahamians to “play their part” in terms of ensuring that protocols are followed and that you and your colleagues are adhering to them.

Dr Michael Darville, Minister for Health and Wellness, speaking to reporters ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, said: “To go from Level 3 to Level 2 requires a lot of strategic planning and work.... We believe we did our part and we’re pleased that we’re now at Level 2.”

He added: “We are concerned because the Omicron virus is roaming wild in many countries where our tourists come from and when we look at the state of Florida, we see the cases going up there. We are concerned and we are now in deep discussions to adjust some of our protocols to ensure that we are able to deal with issues at our borders, while at the same time prevent community spread within the country.”

The government is monitoring the risk Omicron poses and is prepared to make “adjustments” to the COVID-19 health and safety rules “very shortly” to pre-empt a fourth wave in the country, however Dr Darville stopped short of calling for lockdowns or border closures for the country.

Chester Cooper, Minister for Tourism and Investments, added in a statement to the media: “This welcomed (CDC) news comes at a time when The Bahamas is experiencing its strongest visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy numbers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as affirmation of the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of both its visitors and residents.

“The Bahamas has experienced impressive visitor arrivals and forward booking trends that reflect pent up demand for the destination from all key source markets. I remain confident that we will continue to experience positive growth across all sectors of our industry”.

Mr Cooper warned, however: “We ought not be lulled to sleep by the improvement of our grading by the CDC, we should stay vigilant, we should follow the protocols, we should avoid large parties and large gatherings. Because now that we have Level 2 that doesn’t mean we are completely out of the woods.”