by Jim Byers
Last updated: 12:30 AM ET, Mon January 4, 2021
Two top Caribbean tourism officials say the New Year promises good things for the region.
Pablo Torres, the president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), predicted the Caribbean will see a return of tourism to the region, "faster than many parts of the world," thanks to the protocols and partnerships implemented throughout the region to help lessen the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stating that 2021 would be a year of recovery, Torres declared, "Tourism is our key to recovery, to restoring the livelihood of thousands of employees in our industry, to reopening our doors, and welcoming our guests."
In addition to replenishing tax revenues to cash-strapped governments, Torres noted that a tourism revival would refresh and renew "the minds, bodies and spirits of millions of travelers who will discover that the Caribbean is the best place on earth to recover from the ravage of this pandemic."
Describing COVID-19 as an unprecedented challenge, he applauded the Caribbean's rapid response to the pandemic, which helped to contain the spread of the virus more effectively than many other parts of the world. He saluted the "countless health heroes" whose dedication and sacrifices had averted a great deal of human suffering and have helped to set the stage for the economic recovery the region will be experiencing in the coming months.
Torres commended not only health care professionals but also front- and back-of- house workers across many industries, including tourism, airports and airline personnel, immigration and customs officers, and ground transportation workers.
From territory- and country-specific COVID-19 testing requirements and stringent cleaning and sanitization protocols in place at accommodations providers to social distancing and face mask policies and rules limiting capacity at restaurants and other gathering places, Torres noted that the Caribbean hospitality sector has gone to great lengths to protect and ensure the health and safety of both residents and visitors.
Neil Walters, Acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, said 2020 was a year that highlighted the region's vulnerabilities, but also provided a strong lesson about the Caribbean's ability to adapt and adjust to a crisis.
"The COVID-19 pandemic crippled the economies of several countries, with the most serious effects being felt in small economies and specifically those reliant on travel and the movement of people. Indeed, these two characteristics essentially describe all the countries of the Caribbean, and consequently, from an economic standpoint, the Caribbean has been one of the hardest hit regions in the world.
"Fortunately, for the most part, as a region we have been able to control the spread of the virus within our local populations. This has been achieved by the implementation of very stringent control mechanisms which have varied from state to state, and included in most instances, temporary closure of international borders," he said.
"By the last quarter of 2020, most of the countries in the Caribbean had reopened their borders and the vast majority of reopened countries had also started accepting commercial travel and visitors to their shores. In all cases, this process has been done within the parameters of protocols designed to complement the health infrastructure of the country," Walters stated.
"The stories which depict this process of infection control and reopening of borders in the face of second and third waves of viral spread in our main source markets, speak volumes about the adaptability of our people and specifically about the travel and tourism sector in the Caribbean which has been given no choice, other than to quickly identify, learn and adapt to the changing environment we have experienced over the past 12 months.
"We therefore move into 2020 armed with a new set of lessons learnt and with the proof that the Caribbean tourism sector along with its counterpart in public health has the collaborative power to restart, reenergize and rebuild tourism in the Caribbean stronger and more resilient, and ready to face the next challenge," he said.
"Experts have indicated, that based on the results of past pandemics in our history, a two-year period of recovery to return to 'normalcy' can be expected. Based on that prediction we can expect 'normal' conditions beyond December 2021. Indeed, our concept of 'normal' is compounded by the view that the measures we have implemented to control the spread of the virus may stay with us for an indefinite period.
Walters said the CTO and its partners "have positioned the Caribbean … as a region which is healthy and safe for travel. It is a position which we must defend, while we make every effort to improve on the other facets of the visitor experience."
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